All But A Dream
by Natsu Shourai
Summary: A Naruto Inu xover. Naraku's dust and Kagome's a dragon youkai and she's going to Konoha. Now it's up to you to decide whether you want to read this or not. It is finally complete
1. Prologue

Alrighty! Another fanfic by me and yet another crossover. This time, it's a Naruto and Inuyasha one. The Naruto bit will be inserted in to next chapter (if my enthusiasm keeps up).

* * *

**Prologue**

It was already halfway through the final battle against Naraku who was in his spider form (?). Other than Kohaku, who lay bound and unconscious near Sango, the rest of Naraku's puppets have already been annihilated. Sango and Miroku were knocked out while Shippo and Kirara tended to them at a corner safe from the raging battle. Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un were with them. The unconscious ones were badly injured as well. Only Inuyasha, Kouga, Sesshomaru and Kagome were left standing against Naraku.

An immense blast of power shook the barren land as Kagome changed into her youkai form. Her hair was midnight black and heavily streaked with orange and red. Her ears were now pointed and her eyes were molten silver instead of the usual soft brown. She had claws and fangs. The sides of her face were decorated with two streaks of ash grey and a small, black, flame appeared at the center of her forehead. The same ash grey streaks also coiled around her wrists.

Without waiting for another second, Naraku attacked the former miko. She dodged with surprising ease and Inuyasha sprang from his spot. "KAZE NO KIZU!" he yelled. The attack severed three of Naraku's legs. As he struggled to reconstruct them, Sesshomaru released a blast from Tokijin, which almost missed Naraku when he dodged but Naraku still lost a few more spidery legs. Kouga ripped off the last of Naraku's legs as Kagome sprang in for the kill. She jumped onto Naraku's back and thrust her clawed hand into Naraku's back and pulled out the Shikon no Tama. _It's missing three shards_, she thought. To finish him off, she released the poison from her claws, which burns anything they touch, thus burning Naraku from inside out. She jumped away from him and walked towards Kohaku.

She turned him over to look at his back. Without another thought, she took the shard out of its resting place and immediately healed Kohaku. After a minute or two, he has a pulse and she announced to the others, "He lives." She fitted the shard to the Shikon no Tama. _Two shards left_. Kagome turned to Kouga and motioned for the shards in his legs. "I'm so going to miss the speed." He mumbled as he pulled the two shards out of his legs. He handed them to Kagome when she approached him to heal the wounds. The last two shards were fitted in and after two years of fights and wandering around, the Shikon no Tama was finally complete.

-------

It has been two months since the defeat of Naraku and Kagome ahs decided to wait for another five hundred years before seeing her family again. In other words, she was not planning to use the well anymore.

It appears that she was a dragon Taiyoukai and the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama. This means that she had both the powers of a youkai as well as a miko. Shippo had become her adopted son. Sango and Miroku got married. Inuyasha had left the village and gone wandering. He also said that Kagome would be in charge of it. Kouga, well he finally got the message that Kagome does not love him into his thick skull and went after Ayame. Last but not least, Sesshomaru and company. Apparently, no one heard from him or any of them after the final battle with Naraku. At least he still dropped by the village once in a VERY long while.

* * *

Truth be told, this looks more like the end of a story rather than a start… Oh... and it's short...-Smiles, shrugs then says…- What the hell. I ain't bothered any more. Just review and tell me what you think. If no one gives me suggestions when it comes to pairings, I'll make it a SessKag one. Go on! Press the little button below! 


	2. To Konoha We Go

G'day to one and all! I hope this is enough for now. I'm trying hard to introduce the different characters slowly. I know it's not nice to dump everyone in suddenly. That would be too abrupt.

My thanks to **DeathNoteMaker, elemental neko, Avestia, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Lady Akatsuki and sasukeandkagome** (whoever you are) for reviewing and your suggestions!

* * *

Chapter 1… To Konoha We Go

The ringing of a cell phone was heard through the noise in the busy office. A man with moderately long orange-brown hair answered the call. 'Hello, Shippo speaking.'

'Hey! It's Kagome here. I need you to look after the company for me again. I'll be gone for quite awhile I believe.'

'Okaa-san! You're evil!'

'Aww! I know you love me! Anyway, just do me the favor.'

'Alright, you'd better get back quick though. Who knows? I might just ditch the place!'

'I dare you to!' Laughter was heard on both ends of the call. 'I've got to go now! Bye and thanks!'

'Bye.' Shippo sighed and closed the phone.

-------

Kagome smiled and slipped her cell phone back into its compartment on the motorcycle. She got on and rode off.

-------

-------

Kagome skidded to a halt outside her family's shrine after five minutes of traveling. She glanced at the place quickly and sighed. _It's been five hundred years and luckily, my memory's not fading yet._ She jumped to the top of the stairs and walked towards the front door. She braced herself for her family's reactions and pressed the doorbell. After standing for a minute, the thumping of footsteps could be heard and her mother's face appeared when the door opened. Behind her was Souta yelling, 'Who's that?' He stopped next to his mother and stared. 'Kagome?'

'Yo. It's been awhile,' she replied.

'Wow! Your hair's so long!' The colour was still midnight black and streaked with red and orange but the length was now slightly below her knees instead of waist long. Her hair was also tied into a low ponytail. 'Nice eyes! And you pierced your ear!' Kagome's right ear had four holes (?). Three with small, identical rings and one ear stud on the earlobe. Kagome was wearing a white shirt (tucked out) and black jeans. She also had a black, leather-like coat which was slightly longer than her hair. Its zip started from waist all the way to the throat. Kagome had it zipped up till the collarbone. Overall, she looked more or less like a Yankee.

---After a detailed explanation---

'So now you're five hundred and seventeen years old?' Souta asked again.

'For the third time, yes.' Kagome answered and sipped from her cup of hot green tea. 'Ah… Green tea never tasted better…'

'So what are you doing now?' Mrs. Higurashi asked.

'I'm currently running quite a company. I established it within the past twenty years, I guess. Oh, and Shippo's my partner.'

'Then you must be very busy.'

'It's manageable.'

'YOUKAI BEGONE!' Kagome's grandfather has made his appearance.

Kagome made a face and pulled the pieces of paper off, 'Grandpa, can you not even recognize your own granddaughter? And for the last time, your ofudas DO NOT work!' _Now I know exactly how they feel…_

'Oh! Kagome! What happened to you?' And now, Kagome has to retell everything.

By late afternoon, Kagome was sitting in the living and switching the channels on the television. Unfortunately, the peace was not to last. When she finally settled on a channel, the doorbell rang. When the door opened by a small crack, something flew towards the door and got stuck in it. Kagome walked out to take a closer look and realized it was a kunai which pinned a note to the door. It read:

_To Higurashi Kagome,_

_To the Hidden Village of Konoha you shall go_

_Your questions will not be answered unless you appear._

The short message was not signed. As her mind wandered off, she hastily called it back, took the keys to the apartment they owned in Konoha and bid her family adieu. She rode off swiftly and packed certain belongings into a few duffel bags. _I hope this is worth it._

---Should I stop here? Nah… Its way too short! ---

_It took awhile but I'm finally here._ Kagome thought as she stood at the front gates of Konoha. There were ninjas looking at her. Apparently, she was carrying six duffel bags in her two hands. Two for her daily necessities and four for her weapons and blacksmithing tools (she picked that up from Totosai). She looked at the people around her. Without any warning, she picked up speed and disappeared from the ninjas' sight. Within a minute, she was standing at the door to her apartment. She unlocked the door and stepped in. A musty smell immediately reached her nose and she cringed slightly. 'This place is in need of cleaning.' She mused aloud. 'But that'll have to be done another time. For now, a little dusting will do.'

The apartment consists of a bed, a balcony, a toilet with a shower area and a bathtub and a fully furnished kitchen. Cupboards were also available. After unpacking, Kagome put on her black coat and put on a belt like strap around her waist. She then slipped Juuman'okudo, her custom made katana, into her belt. She grabbed a few other things, changed her eye color to brown and headed out.

As she walked through the maze of buildings, her mind silently registered every landmark she could use and quickly sketched out a rough map of Konoha. When she checked her digital watch, it was already four in the evening. Spotting a ramen stand nearby, she went ahead for a quick snack. Sitting at the counter, she noticed two other people already seated and eating. A boy with blonde hair was working his way through his third bowl of ramen while a girl with pink hair was talking about how late a certain "Kakashi-sensei" was very late.

When Kagome sat down, the two of them turned to look at her as she placed her order, "A bowl of Cha Shu Ramen."

The girl spoke up, "Hi! My name is Haruno Sakura. And this," she pointed to the boy, "is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said something about him being Hokage (Believe it!). "What's yours?" Kagome remained silent. The girl started to speak again, "Err… I haven't seen your face before. Are you new to Konoha?" Silence was the answer. Kagome's order came. "Where're you from?" Kagome slurped quite a large amount of ramen. "Where's your hitaeate (?)?"

As soon as Kagome finished her food the answer to all the questions came. "Everything about me is none of your concern and it would do you better to not know anything about me."

Naruto and Sakura just stared at her blankly as she walked away.

* * *

There, it's done. Still rather short to me though. For certain things… correct me if there are any errors in my story. And the Cha Shu Ramen, it's something I remember seeing in a menu somewhere. It should be ramen with sliced pork which is barbequed in a certain way. I'm not sure about the exact details but that should do. Remember to review! Bye! 


	3. Meeting People

Hey all! The next chapter's up! I've been on a couple of overseas trips this month so sorry for the slow update. Sadly, it's yet another short chapter. I don't have the ability to put two chapters into one and update quickly you see. If I do that, the story probably wouldn't go very well at all. I simply hate my sister. She keeps hogging the computer (there's only one in my house) playing useless games and she refuses to let me do admin work! Just thinking about it pisses me off.

Anyway, my thanks to** Keuheira**, **DeathNoteMaker**, **Taekwon**, **KawaiiYuuki**,** Kagome Lady of Darkness**,** XxHisLilLoverGirlxX**, **MysticalSpirits**,** Sesshomaru Hiei and Kurama ...**,** preistessofsorrow** and** Lilith-Goth-Fairy **for reviewing. Love y'all! On with the story now!

* * *

Chapter 2… Meeting people

"Good day to you two." Kakashi said (he just appeared.).

"YOU'RE LATE!!!!" Sakura and Naruto shouted.

"Yes, yes. That I am." Kakashi replied, smiling. "A pretty girl asked me for directions to-"

"Save your excuses! Do you even know what time it is?" They snapped.

"Anyhow, it's late and I'm expected home. Buh-bye." Sakura said.

"See you another day, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said. Thus, Kakashi was left at Ichiraku Ramen with his former students' unpaid meals.

-------

Kagome was headed home for the day. Just a few minutes earlier, she met this weird guy who had silver… oh wait, or was it grey hair? Most of his face was covered except his left eye. He looked like one pretty bored guy though. Maybe that was why he kept bugging her with questions of all sorts. Why couldn't people just leave her alone? Home at last. Kagome stuck the key into the keyhole and turned it. The sound of her door unlocking echoed down the corridor, making her suddenly aware of the silence that surrounded her. Without getting too bothered, she pushed the door inward and walked in. She pulled her key out and let the door slam shut. She locked it and started disarming herself before settling into a dreamless sleep.

---

The sun shone brightly into Kagome's eyes as she slowly stirred from her slumber. The sound of the hustle and bustle from the streets reached her sensitive ears and that sped up her speed of getting up. She sat up and looked at the digital clock at her bedside. It read twelve noon and kept blinking at her. She groaned slightly and stumbled out of the bed. She shuffled to the toilet and began brushing her teeth. After that, a shower and a cup of nice, warm English tea. She prepared a quick breakfast and armed herself again. This time, she was dressed in a white tee-shirt and comfortable, faded jeans. By twelve thirty, she had left the apartment.

---

Today, Kagome was out to explore the "training grounds" which the ninja around her often spoke of. When she arrived in the first stretch of the training grounds, three other people were already present. The three if them looked at her with slight hostility until her "dear cousin" Rock Lee, who were one of the three there, spoke up. "Kagome-chan, what on earth are you doing here? Your mother never told me you were visiting."

"No need for anyone to know what I do." Kagome replied with the perfect poker face and a voice so cold it could rival Sesshomaru's.

"But I heard that recently your health has been-"

"Goodbye, cousin." Kagome said and she disappeared to the next stretch of the training grounds.

-------

"Lee, who was that?" Neji questioned.

"That was my youthful cousin, Higurashi Kagome!"

"Then why is there absolutely no resemblance between the two of you?" Tenten asked.

"And why is she so anti-social?" Neji added.

"I don't know. Her father is my uncle. And I plan on finding out why she's like that now."

-------

Eventually, Kagome came to a clearing which had a memorial stone in it and nearby was a rather active stream. At a closer look, there were signs of a fight that were at least three weeks old. Walking into the clearing, she found that it was a rather peaceful place which was unpolluted by modernization. The leaves rustled as a light breeze blew past.

Her entire body suddenly tensed when she sensed that people were approaching. She immediately pulled out a small dagger and threw it towards the approaching people. A clang of metal against metal rang out when her dagger reached its target and got deflected. She raised her voice and said, "Return the dagger and come out." After a moment's hesitation, the dagger came back and her cousin appeared. She glared at him. "What is it?"

"I wanted to know what happened to my youthful cousin to make her so cold." Lee yelled. Behind him, his companions came out of the undergrowth.

"Nothing happened so don't bother yourself with my business." Kagome's handphone started ringing. She took in a deep breath and looked at it. Then, she answered the call. "Hello, Shippo! What's up?"

"_Where have you been? You didn't come home last night."_

"You rascal, didn't I tell you that I would be away for awhile."

"_Yes, you did. But you didn't specify for how long."_

"It appears that I'll be taking a long time… maybe a few months?"

A sigh was heard. _"In that case, wherever you are, do remember to socialize. You gotta loosen up. If not, I have a feeling this trip of yours would be like the last one."_ Shippo was referring to the time they went to Hawaii and Kagome ended up freezing the entire place over with her attitude. _"You've been working too hard."_

"Alright, alright. I get it. Now stop nagging and goodbye."

"_BYE!"_ With that, Kagome hung up. When she looked back at the trio, she was very mildly surprised to find them talking to the three people she met yesterday. There was also another guy who looked WAY too much like Lee for her to find it normal. When he appeared, the two of them were together with a fake setting sun. She almost puked. The rest of the people seemed to be completely used to it and ignored them to a hundred and ten percent.

"Gai-sensei," _weird name,_ Kagome thought. "meet my youthful cousin, Kagome!" _Nice choice of words, Lee._ Everyone turned to look at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Does the Hokage have any idea that you are here?" the one-eyed dude asked her.

"Being the Hokage, she should know. If not… She isn't fit for that position." Kagome replied.

"What did you say?" Apparently, Tsunade appeared out of nowhere, seething with rage. The people in that area shrunk back in fear for their lives.

"I said, if you didn't know that I was here, you aren't fit for the position of Hokage." Kagome repeated nonchalantly.

"Why you little!!" And the 'battle of the titans' begins.

* * *

There, all done and unsatisfying-ly short. Even I'm not pleased so don't rub it in. Well, the next chapter's gonna take quite a bit outta me. The battle's coming soon. What will be the verdict? Even I don't know. Hope I have enough time… 


	4. Odd Humor

Finally, the fourth chapter. Sorry for making all of ya wait for such a long time. Being in Secondary Three is killing me. I'm pretty sure the pace of learning went twice as quickly compared to last year. By now, the first term tests have already begun and weekdays are packed. 'Tis a torture for me. The internet filtering service, of which I did not know existed, stopped me from reading other fan fiction stories. Therefore I want to kill the person in charge of it.

Alright, alright. My thanks to **vnienhuis, S. T. Nickolian, LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko, XxHisLilLoverGirlxX, shadow miko, fluffykogome, Kagome Lady of Darkness, preistessofsorrow, Kitty463, Koori Youkai Hime, DeathNoteMaker** and **Kage Otome** for reviewing!! On with the long-awaited story!!

* * *

Chapter 3... Odd humor

Tsunade was boiling mad but Kagome, on the other hand, was indifferent. "I suggest we run away when they begin." Naruto mumbled. Kagome obviously caught that.

"So you're saying that you will scream like ditzy girls and run around shouting things like 'It's the end of the world!' or 'The sky's falling! Run for your lives!'?" Everyone sweatdropped. With a sudden yell from Tsunade, the battle began. No one screamed and ran around though…

Tsunade immediately brought her fist to the ground, making the ground split and having dirt flying all over the place. Kagome simple sidestepped neatly and a devilish grin appeared on her face. Tsunade kept attacking and Kagome just kept moving, giving the spectators the impression that she was not fighting but dancing instead. Tsunade then disappeared and reappeared behind Kagome, hoping to catch her unguarded. As she brought her fist down, the grin on Kagome's face turned to a smirk. She caught Tsunade's punch. Tsunade quickly pulled off and her movements became even faster than before. Kagome also sped up. Soon, the two of them were no more than blurs of black and green.

It was rather frustrating for Tsunade to keep missing Kagome. Even if it was only by an inch. She paused and Kagome also stopped, her left hand fingered Juuman'okudo's hilt. From a physical battle, it has moved on to a glaring competition. Tsunade gave a hard glare while Kagome, on the other hand, seemed to be having quite an easy time giving her coldest, most scalding glare which she picked up from Sesshomaru (speaking of Sesshomaru, where do you think he's at?). The two of them glared… and glared… and glared… The sky, which was initially blue and cloudless, suddenly turned darker and darker due to ominous dark clouds which appeared out of nowhere over head. Finally, Tsunade blinked by accident. Kagome burst out laughing and the dark clouds seemed to be on a rewind button which made them disappear over the horizon rapidly and revert the sky back to the blue it once was.

Everyone stared at the sky in disbelief and then at Kagome who just recovered from her outburst. "Who's up for ramen? My treat!"

-------

The group of them were all gathered at Ichiraku Ramen. Kagome and Naruto were competing with each other and practically swallowing bowl after bowl of ramen. Tsunade was sulking. She didn't like the fact that she got beaten by someone younger than her (or so she thinks). Lee was cheering for Kagome while the rest were just watching. Gai was off doing some kind of weird forfeit for losing to Kakashi. The two of them were competing to see who finishes a bowl of ramen faster (the obvious winner was Kakashi). Oddly, Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino intervened just as Kakashi was removing his mask, again. So they were now also spectators to Kagome and Naruto's eating competition. They were joined by Shino, Kiba and Hinata soon after. All of them were simply awestruck by the amount that Kagome eats. It's relatively impossible for her to be eating so much yet still have a figure like hers'.

Kagome and Naruto were like bottomless pits as they poured bowl after bowl of ramen into their mouths. For once, Naruto was evenly matched. After half an hour of swallowing ramen at the rate of one bowl every ten seconds (go do the math for me) Naruto was finally bloated. "Are you up for another bowl?" Kagome asked. Naruto almost puked.

"I don't think Naruto will enter Ichiraku's for a long time." Kakashi commented. The rest nodded in agreement. When Kagome asked for the bill and it came out as an almost six figure sum, Kagome didn't seem to be all that bothered and she paid up in cash, all in one shot. And now a new question rings in the spectators' heads: Exactly how rich is Lee's cousin, Kagome?

-------

The next morning, Kagome woke up at nine forty-five. She could hear that the streets were already rather busy with people bargaining and trying to decide which product to get. She shuffled her feet on the cold parquet flooring towards the kitchen. She began making coffee and while it boiled, she went to brush her teeth and get changed.

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom wearing her black leather jacket which was over a grey, sleeveless turtleneck. Along with that, she wore long, black cargo pants which had at least an inch of cloth dragging on the floor. Along with that was the 'multipurpose belt' of hers. By the time she returned to the kitchen, her coffee had been properly brewed and ready for consumption.

When she finished her coffee, she slung her katana on her back along with a blade-like bow and a quiver of arrows. She took along a few kunais and shurikens which she nicked from Naruto yesterday and left the house.

-------

Kagome jumped from tree to tree, making her way towards one of the more secluded places of Konoha. She took out her iPod, turned it on and scrolled around. Eventually, she played Zips by T.M. Revolution (catchy song, that one). As the music built up, she picked up speed. The feeling of the wind blowing through her hair and going against her face was one thing she really liked.

By the time the song played its last note, Kagome came to the wall of a ridiculously high cliff. "Oh well, time to climb." she thought aloud. Pinning her right arm to her back, she scaled to wall with her left arm and both legs. The weapons on her back clinked as she made her way up the rocky surface. If she wanted to, she could have just jumped up but she already decided not to.

She placed her hand on the lowest rock which juts out and pushed very hard for a head start. She held onto another rock and looked down. Fifty meters up, she thought, could've gone higher… Oh well…

When she came to the exact halfway point of the cliff, she switched to her right hand and continued her climb. She then caught a slight movement to her right. There was another cliff there and someone else was also climbing it with one arm. Her eyes changed from its disguised colour, chocolate brown, to molten silver. Her vision improved tremendously and now, she could see that it was Kakashi who was scaling the cliff. She raised an eyebrow in slight amusement. Then mentally, she set a target to get to the top before Kakashi without using her youkai powers. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1! She thought. She sped up the wall using her right arm.

With one last push, she landed gracefully on the top. She looked back at Kakashi and noted that he just only reached the top. She smiled to herself in satisfaction and dropped her weapons. Using some of her youkai powers, she molded a rock into a target and set it far from her. Changing her eye colour into icy blue this time (having some fun playing with colours!), she picked up her bow/blade and notched an arrow onto it. Without using any the powers she was gifted with, she shot a perfect bull's-eye straight through the slab of rock. She walked over to it and pulled out the arrow.

Putting the bow/blade and arrows to one side, she unsheathed Juuman'okudo and began her "dance" while listening to U2's Vertigo. She spun and twirled, her blade slicing the air around her. Landing, she slashed from her right to her back. Then she jumped and spiraled before plunging straight down with her sword before her. She landed on her left hand and pushed herself upright again. She then unleashed a wave of red and black from Juuman'okudo. It destroyed everything in it's path.

-------

Unknown to Kagome, Kakashi had been watching. The fact that she used the katana with such skill and precision astounded him. According to what he heard from Lee, she was supposed to be very ill, but just watching her made him doubt that. And the red and black wave was another thing which piqued his curiosity about who or what Kagome truly was.

-------

As the music finally came to a stop, Kagome's movements slowed and with a final swish of her katana, she stopped. Kagome slipped Juuman'okudo back into it's scabbard and sighed. Suddenly, a white blur dropped infront of her. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the person infront of her.

-------

On the other cliff, Kakashi level of curiosity about Kagome got even higher.

* * *

There, all done. Yay me! Haha. Anyway, I hope all of you out there enjoyed this chapter. Do remember to review. All you gotta do is press the widdle button below! 

Disclaimer : I don't own the mentioned songs or the characters featured in this story.


	5. Seeing Old Friends Again

The next chapter's up!! Yay!! This one should be interesting, don'cha think?

My thanks **to S. T. Nickolian, crystal lilith, shadow miko, naru-chan13, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Kurama'sFoxyMiko, hoyt, -BaByBuBbLe-, Koori Youkai Hime, LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko, Sesshomaru Hiei and Kurama …, Tsuki Shirou, vnienhuis** last AND least **guardian jen**.(just joking!)

And dearest, Jennifer, I am very aware of the short chapters, thank you very much.

Forget my ramblings… ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Chapter 4… Seeing old friends again

It took awhile for the dust to settle and for Kakashi to actually get a good look at the newcomer. His face was awfully familiar and he was sure that he had seen this person before; it was only a few years back. Kakashi then began contemplating on whether to go to the other side or not…

---

"What the hell are you doing here, Sesshomaru?" Kagome almost screeched her head off.

"Isn't that the question I'm supposed to ask you, miko?"

"That reminds me! I still haven't settled that with you! For the last time!! My name is not 'miko', 'human', 'woman', 'wench', 'youkai', 'girl', 'insolent creature' or any other nonsensical names you can come up with!!! What IS the problem with your damn dried-ice attitude?! For heavens' sake, it's already the twenty first century! Still stuck with your stupid 'head-up-in-the-clouds' attitude?! GET A LIFE!!"

Sesshomaru stood still and simply stared at her with his piercing eyes, moving once or twice to avoid the saliva which she sprayed out. "You seriously need a mop in your mouth, woman."

"STILL ON WITH THAT?!" (Sesshomaru moves a slight bit again.)

"Anyway, do you still remember the first question you asked me?" (Please refer.)

"Erm…" Kagome began squeezing her brain juices just to try and recall what she first asked him. In the end… "What DID I ask you?"

Sesshomaru gave her a glare of disbelief (if possible) and said, "You asked why I am here."

"Oh… right… Why ARE you here?"

"My first question for you: Do you still have the Shikon with you?"

Kagome nodded suspiciously and her now pale blue eyes narrowed, "What do you want with it?"

"You received a note… of sorts to come here, right?"

"Yes, I did. Now answer me, what do you want with the Shikon?"

"There are people after it and they were the ones who sent the note to you."

"How do you know all of this and who is after me?" Kagome's expression froze over as the question flowed out of her mouth.

Sesshomaru was silent for a moment and he turned towards Kakashi, "You DO know that he's staring at us, right?" Kakashi waved and Sesshomaru waved back. Though not in the same exaggerated manner which Kakashi used.

"You know him?"

"An old acquaintance of mine."

"Want him to come over?"

"Later. You should keep in mind that if he comes over, you'll be bombarded with more questions."

"Oh yeah…" Kagome's eyes turned to a sky blue as she continued, "Let's now stray from the main topic. Now tell me, how'd you get all that information?"

"Simple. Because of my 'suspected' connections with you, the people after you came to me, though not in a very peaceful manner. One of them spilled it and I caught their name. They called themselves the Akatsuki. They even wore matching cloaks. All of them might be humans and I reluctantly accept the fact that they are more skilled in fighting than most other humans would be." Sesshomaru looked a little grim as he gave Kagome the information. _Shoot…_

A faint scent of blood was suddenly detected by Kagome and she knew very well whose blood that belonged to. "Baka… What have you been doing? From my point of view, you dropped your guard Sesshomaru. Never thought I'd see this day." Kagome began nagging at him.

"You can't blame me if I've been ambushed by a group of humans with strength comparable to that of mid-level youkais AND with odd ninjutsu which I haven't been updated on," Sesshomaru mumbled and stared at the sky.

Kagome stared, wide-eyed, as Sesshomaru fell to the ground. She moved towards him and immediately found the wound. It was on his back. Kagome inspected the wound and made sure there was no infection. She took a closer look at Sesshomaru and noticed that he had fainted from blood loss. _Must've been A LOT of blood._

Kagome heaved him up and got ready to leave when Kakashi came by. "What's wrong with him?"

"Blood loss and a magnificent wound which he will heal from as long as he gets a fresh supply of blood which I am confident that his body will replace on its own," Kagome said quickly.

"Need help carrying him? A sickly girl like you shouldn't-"

"Wrong words, mister. By the way, get my weapons back to my place and do not have direct contact with the sword. I'm sure you'll work it out," Kagome's eyes were now stormy-grey rimmed with its original colour of molten silver. She sped off so quickly that she seemed to disappear into thin air.

-------

Kagome brisk walked into the hospital and asked the clerk, "Is there a free ward somewhere?"

"On the third floor, the sixth door to your right," she replied with a smile. "May I-" Kagome was already gone.

---

Kagome kicked the door down, walked into the ward and dumped Sesshomaru onto the bed. "Know what Sesshomaru, you are such a troublesome person," she said to the unconscious Sesshomaru as she took off the black jacket/coat she was wearing. "You should've just made sure you were perfectly fine before you come running to me and making me heal you."

Kagome took a basin, went towards the nearest sink, filled the basin with water and went back into the room. She then reached for a towel, wet it, turned Sesshomaru so that she could dress his wound yet let him breathe and ripped his shirt off. "Interesting, you drenched your shirt in blood." Kagome dropped the blood-drenched shirt on the floor and began cleaning his wound.

Once that was done, she disinfected the wound. Kagome thought she saw Sesshomaru wince when she was disinfecting his wound but brushed it off as hallucination.

Now, she finally called out some of her powers from the different reserves of energies she had to stop the bleeding. It was not healthy to heal it fully all the time.

---(different POV)---

While Kagome was dressing Sesshomaru's wounds, Haruno Sakura coincidentally passed by the room which they were in. Okay, maybe not so coincidentally. The main reason why she was there was because she was told to investigate the loud crashing noise which was heard moments earlier. Then, she came across Kagome in action. She hid her presence and watched silently (Kagome was way too preoccupied to notice!).

When Kagome closed her eyes and summoned the energies, Sakura did not know what was really going on. She was stunned when a pink flame appeared in Kagome's hands and began healing Sesshomaru. Sakura was wide-eyed by then.

---(back to normal)---

While the ball of energy Kagome summoned was healing Sesshomaru, Kagome's senses were heightened to their sharpest. At this point, she finally felt a faint presence in the area near her. However, no ill intensions were detected. Within a few minutes, Sesshomaru's wounds were partially closed and no longer bleeding. After she finished bandaging the wounds, she pulled a chair towards her and slumped into it. She sighed and tried to find that presence she felt again but by then, it was gone. Kagome looked at Sesshomaru and gave him a slight glare with her currently pale grey eyes and said, "Baka. Thanks to you, I'm completely drained. Even all of last night's ramen (remember the competition?) have been digested to naught. Baka…" She then hit him on the shoulder.

"OI!" Sesshomaru was jolted conscious and sitting upright due the pain Kagome created when she smacked him on the shoulder. "Mind you, it still hurts more than any other wound I've ever received!!"

Kagome stuck out her tongue and said in a childish manner, "Owari!! I didn't mean to!"

Sesshomaru held in the temptation to roll his eyes. "Where's my shirt?" Kagome pointed to the bloody mess on the floor. "Darn," he mumbled. "DO you know of anyone who I could borrow from?"

"Wow. I didn't think you'd actually suggest that." Sesshomaru glared at Kagome. "You won't succeed in making me move again you snotty brat."

"You obviously have no respect for your elders."

"It is thanks to you that I'm this beat."

"It is your fault for actually bothering."

"So you'd rather die."

"I didn't say that."

"You implied that."

"Implied what?"

"Now you're in denial."

"I'm never in denial."

"Aren't you currently in denial?"

"Why are we talking about this?"

"Because you want me, a person without a trace of energy in her, to go find you a shirt."

"If you didn't have energy, how are you able to argue with me?"

"That is not the point!"

"You should at least try to make your words believable."

"Argh!! You're unbelievable!"

"You should have known that for ages now." Sesshomaru was smirking by the time he said this. He knew he had won this argument… WHICH WAS TOTALLY POINTLESS!!!! Sesshomaru mentally slapped himself on the forehead for being such an idiot.

The two of them were silent for ten minutes. It was then that they heard footsteps coming towards their direction. Both their heads turned towards the door and saw a panting Sakura there. "Tsunade-sama wants to see the both of you in her office now," she panted.

Sesshomaru and Kagome looked at each other. "I told you to find a shirt for me and this is the result of refusing me," Sesshomaru smirked and told Kagome, who was apparently getting slightly flustered by then.

-------

In the end, Kagome did find a shirt for him. In fact, it suited Sesshomaru just fine.

Now, they're in Tsunade's office and the she was looking at them both, still not believing what Sakura told her. Comparing with what Lee said, it was awfully oxymoronic. Nothing made sense or did anything fit. Lee's description of his cousin was very different from the person infront of her. _And who is this weird guy who looks like eye-candy? Wait, did I just think that?! Unbelievable!!_ "Spit it out, who are you, really?"

"Lee's cousin, Kagome."

"That is none of your concern." Sesshomaru was terribly upset. Shouldn't he be sitting instead of standing? _What the hell do I have to do with this situation? The answer, NOTHING! Curse that woman._ Tsunade sneezed and Sesshomaru stifled his laughter. _Odd, never believed that would work._

Tsunade was now glaring at the both of them. Unfortunately for her, just Kagome glaring at her was bad enough. But Kagome and Sesshomaru might just prove too much… "Why is it that both Kakashi and Sakura reported to me that you, Kagome, have certain powers which none of us are aware of?"

"That's just the way it is."

"Will I ever get the answers I'm seeking from the two of you?"

Both Kagome and Sesshomaru replied, "No."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and was about to say something when Lee, Naruto and Sakura burst into the room. "Tsunade obaa-san! What's the mission this time?!" Naruto was yelling his head off again…

The three adults stared at the noisy youth, Sesshomaru and Kagome with their deadpan looks and Tsunade with the impression that she would probably burst with anger. The room was eerily quiet. The entire place felt like it froze over. "Cousin, what are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru looked at Kagome with an amused look. Truth be told, he looked like he was going to laugh. "You shouldn't be asking me. Ask her instead," Kagome said, at the same time casting a sideway glance (warning) to Sesshomaru and pointing to Tsunade. "By the way, 'Tsunade obaa-san'," Kagome imitated Naruto, "If you want to find out more about us, wait till the two of us get into a fight." Kagome grinned as she ended her sentence. "Remember, patience is a virtue!" With that, Kagome disappeared. Sesshomaru ran after her, cursing at the same time.

"What was that about?" asked Sakura, Naruto and Lee.

Tsunade just glared at them and said, "Nothing. Mission cancelled."

"What? I ran all the way here and you tell me mission's cancelled? Tsunade obaa-san! It ain't fair!" Naruto whined.

Tsunade shot him an even more menacing glare and this time, everyone scurried off.

-------

"Shall I treat you to lunch?" Kagome asked, as she stopped outside her house.

"If you're cooking, I'd rather not get poisoned."

"For goodness' sake! Get over it! You jolly well know that I can cook perfectly fine!" Kagome stomped on the ground as she said that.

Sesshomaru looked down and said, "Better not start an earthquake, girl."

"The name is Ka-go-me! At least get that right, will you?!"

"I _refuse_ to," Sesshomaru emphasized. "As for lunch, I'd rather Ichiraku's."

"Oh fine- Wait, how'd you know that place?"

"My acquaintance with Kakashi should have hinted to you that I was here before."

"If that's the case, how come I never saw you around when I came years ago. And why doesn't Tsunade know of you?"

"Simple. I kept a low profile. Unlike some people I know…"

"You know I heard that, Sesshomaru."

"To lunch we go," with that, Sesshomaru walked off, at the same time lightly tugging the collar of the black shirt. "You shouldn't have gotten me a black shirt… Isn't good for this weather."

Kagome grumbled about something which included the words 'fussy prick' and 'stick up his stinking ass'. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, simply ignored her and walked towards Ichiraku's.

---

Sesshomaru staring at nothing in particular while waiting for his ramen when Kagome arrived. She had her iPod turned on and she seated herself silently next to Sesshomaru. She placed her order and waited. Ino, Sakura and Hinata then arrived. Kagome looked at them. They looked back at her. Kagome slipped out her iPod and turned it off, then slipped it back into her pocket. "I believe you have questions."

"How'd you eat so much and still not put on weight?" Ino blurted out immediately.

That was something Kagome did not expect her to ask. She was slightly taken aback when she answered, "I… work out?" In the back ground, Sesshomaru was chuckling softly. Kagome gave him a warning glare which said "you wouldn't want me to smack your back, would you". He didn't seem to be bothered. Kagome turned to face the counter. She then stretched out her left hand behind her and swung it hard towards Sesshomaru's back. As her hand made contact with his back, he hunched slightly and stiffened completely as he cringed from the intense pain.

He growled through gritted teeth, "Once I'm healed, you will regret doing that." Sesshomaru tensed and as the ramen came, the pain wore off entirely. Sesshomaru recovered his breath. The three girls in the vicinity ate their ramen stiffly as their minds kept returning to that warning of Sesshomaru's.

"I'll be ready for you by then, Sesshomaru," Kagome said confidently. "Itadakimasu." The three girls echoed her and Sesshomaru's voice came last.

As Sesshomaru swallowed the last of his ramen, he told Kagome, "Till we meet again, and by the way, low-level 'enemies' area currently attracted by the 'sphere' again. Its power has begun surging again."

"Kuso… Thanks for the memo, Fluffy."

Sesshomaru growled at the comment, "Bear in mind that retribution would come soon." With that, he left leaving not a trace behind.

"Whatever…"

Ino, Hinata and Sakura were still giggling at the 'Fluffy' nickname when Kagome asked them with a cheery grin, "So, how'd you girls like to go demon exterminating with me?"

* * *

There, another chapter done. I enjoyed doing this one more than the others. Kinda fun to make Kagome and Sesshomaru argue, don'cha think? Haha, by the way, I don't really read the manga of naruto so I'd really appreciate it if y'all could provide me with some information about the Akatsuki.  No sweat, I'd find a way to pull through! Remember to review!! Ja ne! 


	6. Reintroduction for all

The next chapter's up! Yay!! I felt it kind of difficult to for this chapter. I could not really find a way to link the different events together. At least I managed the chapter!

My thanks to **Lady Akatsuki, Taeniaea, LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko, Lindsay-chan, S. T. Nickolian, shadow miko, vnienhuis, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Ai Megami Murasaki **and** XxHisLilLoverGirlxX** for all the reviews and info!

* * *

Chapter 5… Reintroduction for all

The quartet trudged through the beaten path in the forest. The smell of rotting leaves wafted around them but none of the four seemed bothered. Instead, all of them were alert for movements in their surroundings. Well… not exactly all of them were this tense. The oldest of the four was prancing around, laughing and she was, more or less, too cheerful.

"Sakura-chan, aren't we supposed to be her companions in a 'demon extermination' thingy?" Ino whispered.

"I don't know. She might be fooling for all we know… Come to think of it, this whole thing is rather stupid! Don't you think?"

Suddenly, Kagome stopped moving and held still. She slowly balanced herself on her right foot and looked like she was going to kick someone. Within a split second, she turned and slammed her leg into a… thing… which was poised to attack her. The assumed 'thing' slammed into a tree and immediately got knocked out. Without a moment's hesitation, Kagome lifted her right arm and face her palm towards the thing. She then released a pink ball of energy which engulfed the thing and seemingly vaporized it completely.

Ino, Sakura and Hinata stared at her with mouths agape. Apparently, it was rather hard to accept the fact that the goofy person they were with was pretty much a cold-blooded killer. Kagome sent them a grin. She doesn't seem to realize that what she just did shocked them all. "Onward!!" was all Kagome said. The other three girls nodded mutely and followed her.

Within a few minutes, the four of them came to a clearing. The sound of flowing water reached their ears as they turned to the right to see a river flowing by further down. Kagome casually walked to the center of the clearing. The three younger girls hurriedly followed.

Kagome's eyes suddenly turned hard as she raised her voice and said, "Come out only if you are ready to fight." Almost immediately, an entire hoard of 'things' appeared. "Weaklings," Kagome scoffed. The three girls were very alarmed. They had absolutely no idea on what to do. As the 'things' got near Kagome, they all turned to dust instantly. When the 'things' finally had enough sense to stop approaching her, Kagome's shield grew larger and larger, until it turned the entire things to nothingness. "There, all done. Brainless twits…"

Kagome's face had a huge smile planted on it. She walked towards the girls and held them by their shoulders, "Now, now. I'm pretty sure all of you were wondering what they were. Simply put, they were youkai."

"Y-Youkai?" Hinata echoed.

"Uh-huh. Now, it's about time I get going. Run along now."

-------

"What was that about?" Sakura said when they thought they were out of Kagome's hearing range.

"I don't know. But it's definite that that Kagome person isn't just anyone." Ino replied thoughtfully.

Hinata simply nodded.

-------

As I said before, the three of them **thought** that they were out of Kagome's hearing range. So, she obviously heard them. _About time to have some fun…_

-------

Morning came quickly. Kagome stepped out of her apartment looking like her old self. She had a sling bag slung over her right shoulder and its contents clinked with every step she took. Without a moment's hesitation, she went towards the nearby dango stall and bought her breakfast.

She held onto the stick and made her way towards the forest once again. On this particular day, she seemed to have an extra bounce to her step when she figured that people were following her. As she finished her dango, she stopped in the middle of nowhere. She let a minute amount of her poison leak from her shortened claws to burn the stick. It was out of the sake of convenience anyway. As the wood caught fire, Kagome held onto it till it was dust before letting go and continuing her walk to god knows where.

Eventually, the forested area became a field of lush, green grass, just like the kind which Rin would run around on. A cooling breeze came towards her direction. Kagome put down her bag and lifted her head to fully enjoy the fresh air. As it died down to occasional gusts, Kagome lay down on the grass and looked up at the clear blue sky which had patches of fluffy white clouds being blown about.

The sun's heat was comfortably warm on her skin. A slight rustle, which a human's ears could never catch, came from the forest. Kagome could not be bothered. She was, after all, the Shikon's guardian. A small smile tugged her lips as she thought back to all those fun times in Sengoku Jidai. Nothing could ever replace those moments. _I wonder how the company's doing now._ The memory of how flustered Shippo was when she left him alone for the first time made her break out in laughter. _Whoever's watching now must think I'm just a loony. That person really concealed his scent really well._

Her laughter finally died down and she sat up. Kagome pulled her bag towards her. At the same time, she noticed the watcher tense; it was almost as though he expected her to whip out a weapon all of a sudden or something. Actually, she had half a mind to do so. No, she had to be patient. Haste would not help in this situation. Kagome opened her bag and looked through it. Its contents clicked again as she dug in the bag. Eventually she pulled out a… lollipop. Kagome ripped the wrapper off, quickly melted it and stuffed the sweet into her mouth.

Hearing the people in the forest smack themselves for being over reactive made Kagome's strategic patience really worth it. It might bore her once in awhile but it was truly worth finding out what the opposition party's reaction might be.

Kagome was halfway through her candy when she felt the watchers get ready to go aggressive. Once again, she reached into her bag and held onto an ordinary double-edged sword. In its current state, the sword looked exactly like a little trinket a person would find in a souvenir shop for medieval things. Kagome had it in her fist as she pulled her hand out of her bag.

(Lesson begins!)

The little weapon was very useful in such situations. It is usually activated by having the owner putting his or her main source of energy into it. The examples of energy are mainly chakra, a miko's ki or youki. These weapons are usually made by order and tailor made to suit the owner. So for Kagome's case, she just has to either put in a miniscule amount of her miko energy or youki.

(Lesson ends!)

When the watchers jumped at her, Kagome was, needless to say, ready. In an instant, her double-edged sword materialized into its full size. As she did so, her attention was actually focused on the ants carrying the small pieces of her lollipop wrapper. _I guess I didn't melt it well enough._ It was awhile before she finally looked up only to find some of the shinobi she met, and a number of strangers, standing defensively around her.

Kagome raised an eyebrow and looked at all of them skeptically. "What on earth are all of you up to?" she asked.

"Firstly, where is your hitaeate? I asked you that the first time I met you," Sakura said, "and could you put that sword down? It's rather unnerving."

"Ok…" Kagome made the sword revert back to its trinket size. The shinobi stared with disbelief as she did so and began digging her bag again. This time, everyone was rather confused by the items Kagome pulled out. "You asked for my hitaeate and now I show you." Kagome said with a noticeable note of humor in her voice. She shook the hitaeates in their faces. Apparently, she had the hitaeates of all the hidden villages. It was downright confusing.

"Where'd you get so many from?" a boy with very dark eyeglasses asked her nonchalantly.

"Simple." Everyone turned to look at Kagome when she uttered that word. How can such a thing be simple? "All I needed to do was 'hit-and-run'. Its more like a 'hit-hard-and-run' but I'm not too bothered about that."

"What do you mean by 'hit-and-run'?" Now, it was a… rather plump… boy who asked her.

"Follow a certain ninja from a certain hidden village, eventually attack the targeted person, knock him out and take his hitaeate. I mostly target the strongest I can find." Kagome said with a huge grin on her face. Everyone sweat dropped at her explanation. She definitely had too much time on her hands.

"When did you begin doing this?" This time, a rather bored looking guy wearing a green vest spoke up. He looked like he was the leader in charge of this huge group of shinobi.

"It was years ago. Why the heck would I keep track?"

"But Kagome-chan, you're only seventeen! How long ago could that have been?!" Lee spoke up. _This is not good…Definitely not good._

Kagome shrugged. She turned to her bag again. Everyone tensed as she fished out… a piece of chocolate. Everyone fell to the floor.

"Please do not give me tension! It could just kill me one day!" Ino exclaimed.

"And you're supposed to be a shinobi?"

She was still glaring when Kagome said, "At least introduce everyone to me. I'm getting kinda bored living in Konoha."

Kagome was given a look, by everyone, which said '…'.

"Anyhow," _At least someone snapped out of it…_ "The name's Inuzuka Kiba! And this is Akamaru." Kiba pointed to the white puppy sticking out of his coat and it barked. _Interesting pair…_

"I'm Nara Shikamaru." _So that's his name._

"My name's Aburame Shino." _Still no expression…_

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Haruno Sakura, medic-nin in training."

"Akimichi Chouji."

"Hyuuga Neji." _He's so darn uptight… Like chill man!_

"I'm H-Hyuuga Hinata."

"I'm Tenten."

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"The noisiest brat in Konoha." Sakura added. Naruto shot her a disappointed look while the other smiled at the statement.

"Well, it looks like we're starting over. In that case, I'm Higurashi Kagome, cousin to Lee." _That'll be enough of an introduction for now.

* * *

_

All done! Additional math is killing me. I friggin' failed it!! Anyhow, enough about studies, I must know, for example, **IF** I were to do a Kagome Akatsuki member pairing, would the Akatsuki member be rather OOC?

Please remember to review! It wouldn't take all day!


	7. Guess Who

Hah! It's Chapter 6! Well, 7 if you included the prologue. This chapter is kind of… like… the events more or less just jump out of my mind. So it more or less… Never mind… I absolutely hate explanations…

My thanks to **kitsunekitsune-bi**, **vnienhuis, Kagome Lady of Darkness, MysticalSpirits, idabonz, Ai Megami Murasaki, LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko, xXKillorbeKilledXx, shadow miko, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Lindsay-chan, DarkDragonesFlyEveryWhere, blackwolf15, AliKat89** and** ichigo49218**!

* * *

Chapter 6… Guess Who

_What to do… what to do…_ Kagome hopped and skipped over the junk which covered the floor of her apartment as that one thought ran around her head. Apparently, it never occurred to her to just clean up that currently lousy excuse of an apartment.

It was more or less considered as late morning already. Last night, she spent her time finding out about the Konoha ninja she befriended. At least she now knew where they lived. She almost stumbled into the kitchen and picked up her mug of green tea. _I need to know how good they are in combat_, she thought as she sipped her tea.

The little details of what she could do slipped silently into her mind as she slowly cleared the floor. While trying to decide who to evaluate first she stuffed the oversized bulging bag of rubbish into the rubbish chute. She then tried estimating how long she might take to actually finish the evaluation while making her bed and making sure the floor was spick and span. Kagome finally finished the last of her tea while trying to remember whether she had enough paper and ink to write down all her notes.

When she finally snapped back into reality, she looked around her in amazement. "How come I didn't realize that the house elves came and went? And what the heck was I thinking about?" she uttered aloud. Apparently, she cleaned up the apartment in her unconsciousness and what ever she did not put to paper would be erased the moment she returns to reality. And after five hundred years, no one, including Kagome, knew about that. In other words, who knows how many ingenious and great ideas have gone to waste just like (snaps fingers) that?

-------

Kagome's stomach growled ungraciously as she trudged through the streets of Konoha. She was not in the mood to be all sugary and sweet. _When was my last proper meal?_ As her mind wandered off to find out when she actually had a proper meal, she bumped into someone, thus bringing her mind home.

Kagome had quite a scowl on her human face as she looked at the person she bumped into. This guy had a rather emotionless face on. He looked rather unfazed by Kagome and seemed to be looking at her the way Sesshomaru used to, years ago. From the corner of her eyes, she noted that she had left Konoha's main streets and, once again, into the green (tree-filled) areas. _Why is it I always come here…?_

The guy she bumped into had black hair, Sharingan eyes and a Konoha hitaeate with a slash through it. He also had a black cloak with red clouds on it. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed off in a rather frustrated fashion. Suddenly remembering she had a small bit of candy left, she reached into the pocket of her jacket. Once again, she felt the person behind her tense up. _What's with people tensing over the slightest of movements?_ When she slipped out the slab of chocolate, the weird guy relaxed. Mentally, she shook her head.

While Kagome peeled the aluminum foil off the chocolate, she thought, _the people around here should really learn how to relax._ When she took her first bite into the chocolate, she felt the person behind her shift slightly into attack mode. Taking that as a forewarning, she immediately fled using her youkai speed. _I think I picked up the 'tense-trait' from these people…_ This time, she shook her head at herself.

-------

Kisame dropped from the trees just moments after Kagome, their target, left while working on her candy. "Wasn't that the target you just let running scot-free? Quite the stunner, don't you think?"

Itachi just ignored him. The two of them continued on in silence before Itachi decided to open his mouth and say, "I agree."

"Seriously? Itachi, I never thought you'd think that way."

Itachi sent his partner an intense glare. He was close to using his genjutsu on Kisame.

"That magazine picture they use, I though it was Photoshop-ed." (I know, there's no such thing. Just let me have my fun!)

"What?"

"Go look it up on the web yourself."

Itachi gave Kisame a glare. "Speak in simple language if you will."

"Nevermind…"

-------

Kagome left the sushi bar with a rather content stomach and one nagging thought of 'stocking up on candy again'. A sudden thought struck her;_ I forgot to find out what that guy's name is._ Shrugging, Kagome quickly cast that thought aside and walked around the different training grounds. She stuffed her hands into her jacket's pockets and fiddled with her leather gloves as she walked pass the shinobi without even a glance. She appeared to be deep in thought.

Eventually, she came to the training ground with the monumental stone at one side. She forgot what it was called. She found herself stopping right before she stepped into the stream. _Not again…Why am I here anyway?_ Kagome turned around and began to make her way back when she saw that a whole mass of people were behind her.

"What's up peeps?" Everyone gave Kagome questionable looks. "Alright, fine. What is it?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing, really. It's just out of character for you to go by without even saying hi." Lee said.

"Oh… I'm just not in the mood…" Kagome mumbled and at the same time, her eyes gained a distant look. "Lee, do me a favor and fight with me."

"Wh-what? Why would you want to fight?" Oddly, it was not Lee who said this but Naruto. Lee was too shocked by the request to actually say something.

"Fight me and be serious." Kagome said curtly. She grinned slightly when she said, "We will begin at the count of three. One… two… THREE!"

Kagome immediately disappeared and reappeared when Lee blocked her fist just in time (_I forgot the first rule of battle… never make the first move_, thought Kagome). He quickly backed away and sped up as Kagome hit the area which he was at just a split second ago. His cousin could not even be seen while he dashed around and blocked her attacks once in awhile.

All of a sudden, Kagome was sitting in the center of the empty field, smiling to herself. "I'll go a little bit slower, for the sake of a challenge." she said. "One… two… three… GO!" Kagome was still sitting at the same position. It was puzzling as to why she would not move.

Lee ran at her head on. Since he could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu, he was at a great disadvantage. Kagome cocked her head to one side, as though listening for something. When Lee delivered his first punch, Kagome caught his fist neatly and flipped him around without much effort. A slight frown appeared on her face as she seemingly strained her senses to search for something. Lee recovered and began piling attack after attack on her.

He did not seem to have forgotten that it was his cousin he was attacking. Last he heard, she had quite a number of illnesses but now, looking at her, she seemed to be in the pink of health and what's more, health was rather obviously the least of her problems. A sudden change in Kagome's expression transformed her frown into a look of realization. Then, it was replaced by a playful, evil grin. Lee's mind could not comprehend what this meant but it seemed likely that someone would be in a horrible position right now.

"Sit, sit down, Lee." Kagome suddenly blurted out. She was laughing while saying, "Sit, Lee. Sit on the ground." The other genin were confused by what she was saying. First, she asked Lee to fight her and now she's telling him to sit? It simply did not tally.

"Naruto," Kagome said cheerily, "since you know where I live, do me a favor and get my katana for me. It's sitting on the living room floor. And be careful not to have direct contact with it. You wouldn't like the outcome. After you get it here, sit down, too." Naruto had a confused expression while he left for Kagome's apartment.

Kagome looked at the rest. "All of you sit down too."

"Is it just me or is she emphasizing a lot on her 'sits'?" Ino murmured.

"Her actions are either incomprehensible or simply mind-boggling." Shikamaru replied softly. "Plain troublesome, this is."

"I'm telling all of you, sit down. Sit!" By now, Kagome was having fits of laughter. When Naruto returned with Kagome's katana (wow, no accident!), she thanked him and said again, "Sit down." As if reacting to something, Kagome burst into an even more violent series of laughing. All the rest could do was to stare at her, without a clue about what's going on, while she kept telling them to sit over and over again. And each time she said 'sit', he laughter continued building.

* * *

That's it. I'm rather worried about the Akatsuki bit. Is anyone of them two too OOC? Do tell me. I'm rather clueless as to how they behave since the anime only have short bits of them fighting and nothing else. Not even socializing with their partners. And if there is socializing, its usually too short for a person to understand their character. Haiz… The troublesome thing… I'm also thinking of starting another fic... hmm...

Please remember to review!! Signing off…..!


	8. Stop Laughing

Yup! I've updated! Its quite fast considering all the stuffs I've gotta do. Especially homework. I hate it. Physics is kinda hard to understand to me. Additional mathematics too. School sucks. Competition day is approaching too. By the way pairings **NOT** confirmed! It might never be.

My thanks to **xXKillorbeKilledXx, Himiko Sanada, Ai Megami Murasaki, X-BaByBuBbLe-X, Lindsay-chan, vnienhuis, shadow miko, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, blackwolf15, SandK, XxHisLilLoverGirlxX, Silver Night Fox, Tsuki Shirou, LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko, Sesshou's ward **and **Kagome Lady of Darkness**!!

A couple of questions to be answered:

Q: Are there pairings?

A: That is for you to interpret. It depends on what you think the characters really feel and the pairings will not be confirmed as of yet.

Q: When will everyone find out that Kagome is a youkai/miko and has the Shikon?

A: That'll be soon. Maybe two or three more chapters. So, stay tuned!

Well, that's all I could fish out. By the way, I really hope everything's up to expectations…

Read on!

* * *

Chapter 7… Stop Laughing

-Shinobi POV-

During the short five minutes which Kagome used to take a break from laughing, a man with waist-length, black hair emerged from the undergrowth. Another thing is, he was covered in mud and he seemed as though he was seething. At the sight of him, Kagome's laughing fit started all over again.

"Damn you, Kagome!! Do you always have to do that whenever I'm in hearing range?! Why on earth can't you just leave me in peace without having to kiss the goddamned floor whenever I drop by? Is it a friggin' crime to visit? For goodness sake, Kagome!" as the man yelled his head off, the birds which were in the trees flew off in a startled fashion while Kagome was hung up in her fit.

Kagome tried clasping her hand over her mouth but ended up sputtering saliva all over the place as she burst into yet another laughing fit. The shinobi around them two were pretty much clueless, once again, about what is going on. For Shikamaru, it was an especially horrible feeling as he, for once, did not understand what the heck was going on.

As Kagome's laughter finally subsided, she heaved heavily due to the lack of air. She turned to look at the man. She blinked a couple of times before breaking into a more controlled version of her laughter. Between laughs, she said, "Haha - you… Haha… Oh my god - Hahaha! You friggin' look like a – Ahahaha! A mud monster!!!" with that, Kagome's control over her laughter sort of crashed-and-burned.

The man was seething. He seemed to be trying very hard to hold his anger in and he more or less resembled a child when he clenched his fists and brought his shoulders up into a stiff shrug. His entire body was rigid while doing so. Even his facial features were slightly scrunched up.

-Normal POV-

Inuyasha was not one bit pleased about the outcome of his unplanned early cross-country jog. The reason being within fifteen minutes of his jogging, he slaps face down into a huge puddle of nice, squishy, stinking mud (and he just had a bath yesterday!). The subjugation beads were glowing like crazy so it definitely was not due to the gravity here being stronger. After knowing the cause and being given time to recover, Inuyasha immediately sped to Kagome. That crazy youkai who has mood swings and will never allow anyone to fully understand her was once that very nice, naïve, compassionate, caring and all-the-other-characteristics-which-a-nice-person-would-have little school girl from the future. What the heck is wrong with her anyway? Anyhow, he found her and she was with a whole lotta kids. They stared but what the heck… the main reason he was here was to get back at Kagome.

Kagome, on the other hand, knew what Inuyasha was up to when he appeared. _It seems that he conveniently forgot that he never got back at me, even when I was just a little school girl._ She thought. Who knew what that sucker was thinking when he burst into the clearing just like that. But that did not really matter since Kagome was having the time of her life just laughing away. Seeing Inuyasha's muddy, stubborn form and the confused shinobi simply added more laughing gas into her body system.

Just then, Sesshomaru returned. His wounds have completely healed up, not even leaving a single scar, not like it was unexpected. "What, exactly, is the problem with you two delinquents?"

Kagome ignored the insult and pointed at Inuyasha. She did not show any sign of stopping her laughter any time soon. When Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha, he allowed himself a slight smirk. He simply refused to let himself laugh outright in such an… undignified… way. It was not becoming.

"You, half-brother, should wash up. That is, unless you want her to keep laughing till you actually decide to get a bath. And who knows when you will do that." Sesshomaru spoke in a formal tone, emphasizing his point with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

-Shinobi POV-

The ninja have already 'met' the second man who appeared sometime ago. Back then, none of them had a good view of his face. Now, in broad daylight, his features were obvious. To the girls: He was drop-dead gorgeous. To the guys: Jealousy rules. For the first guy who appeared, he was covered in mud so no one knows how he really looks like yet. Kagome, in the guys' opinion, was a goddess (AN: they don't want to know…), to the girls, she was more like a model of what they want to become when they grow up (AN: not possible…). The shinobi now had a slight suspicion that the mud-coated guy was also quite good looking. Given the fact that his 'half-brother' was 'drop-dead gorgeous' and Kagome was 'a goddess', it was not possible for the mud-coated guy to be just an ordinary guy.

-Normal POV-

Kagome yawned. Just earlier that day, she had a ridiculously long laughing fit. Just imagining herself like that was impossible. Kagome went to the nearby sushi bar and placed her order. While waiting for her food, she put her right hand against her cheek as she positioned her elbow on the table. She might as well get comfortable during the wait. Kagome watched the chef slice the raw salmon and then move onto the sushi. As she watched the knife, its rhythmic way of slicing and the neatness of it, she suddenly felt a need to perfect her fighting skills.

Kagome pondered about it. The control was there, the speed, the rhythm, the grace… so what was missing? A slight frown appeared on her face as she thought hard. When Kagome's dinner arrived, she immediately shrugged the thought off and concentrated on her dinner. Almost immediately, her head seemed to lighten a bit. _So thinking hard DOES hurt my brain!_ (AN: not true. She just does not realize something)

---

The night was quiet and the moon was full, its silver light gracing the earth beneath it. A restless wind blew ever so often, rustling the leaves in the trees and making the temperature comfortably cool. The silence of the night was enjoyed by Kagome as she strolled around Konoha. Most people were asleep at this time of the night. Therefore, it would be safe to assume that no one would barge in on this night.

As Kagome kept walking, she eventually came to Training Grounds 44 (the place where the 2nd part of the chuunin exams was held). A circular fence surrounded the compound and on it, was a sign which says: Warning. You will die.

"As if I would," Kagome thought aloud. Then, a tempting thought crossed her mind. _Should I go in?_ The huge trees loomed overhead as she pondered. Coming to a decision, Kagome raced across the moonlit field back to the village.

-------

While Sesshomaru sipped his latte that early morning, a piece of paper caught his eye. _Since when did I leave notes lying around?_ He stepped across his room and read it.

He hurriedly got dressed and left his house. _That nutcase…_

---

Upon reaching training grounds 44, he saw that half-brother of his, along with a large number of shinobi, outside the fence. Stopping just outside one of the many entrances, Sesshomaru looked into the forest. It seems that most of the more important people already know about Kagome's crazy decision. _One day, she's going to kill herself._

Lee was worried. No one would go into training grounds 44 unless they have a particularly good reason to do so. The higher ups are currently deciding whether they should send in a search and rescue team in there to save an outsider. They do not have any obligation to do so but you cannot just leave a person to die. It's against the conscience of most people.

Tsunade was standing outside the fence, looking into the forest. Kagome had specified that she would be leaving training grounds 44 from this particular gate and they would just have to trust her to keep her word.

Just as Sesshomaru crouched slightly to jump over the fence, Kagome appeared from the forest unscathed. It was not surprising for Sesshomaru and Inuyasha since she was a youkai. But it was unnerving for them since she was holding onto the Shikon all the time. Who knew what would come after her for it. She should be well equipped with the right skills for this 'worst-case-scenario' though. But the main worry was her terrible sense of direction. There was a very high possibility that she would get stuck in there and never get out.

Kagome had a huge grin on her face as she dragged something over her shoulder as she neared the fence. Juuman'okudo was on her left hip while on her other hip was Kuro Gogyou, her other sword. Kagome dropped the thing which she was carrying and it landed on the ground with a loud thump. Many people were astonished. It was the tail of one of those huge snakes in the training grounds. Kagome leapt out of the compound without the snake, it was a liability to carry around Konoha. It was just a coincidence that it got in her way as she was leaving the forest.

"Nice place you have here, Tsunade." Kagome said when she walked pass Tsunade and towards Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

"What were you thinking when you decided to go in?" Tsunade retorted. She turned to look at Kagome.

Kagome turned back, "Why not enjoy myself before the sun comes up. That was what I thought when I decided to go in." She flashed a charming smile before continuing her walk.

"You still owe me a fight." Sesshomaru murmured as he joined Kagome.

"Then it'll be tomorrow at noon."

"Agreed."

Inuyasha looked at the two of them; his head could not comprehend what was going on.

---

The trio ended up at Ichiraku's Ramen. There, they Naruto and Iruka. It was not long before Kakashi joined them. Orders were placed and all five of them were waiting.

"Iruka-sensei, you're treating me today!" Naruto said with his loud voice.

"No I'm not; I can't treat you everyday you know. I'll go broke." Iruka replied patiently.

Naruto then stared whining and pleading Iruka and when that did not work, he simply said, "Stingy!"

Iruka sighed as the food was served.

"Hey, kid. Why don't I treat you?" Inuyasha suggested unexpectedly.

Naruto looked up excitedly. "Yay! Thanks… er… What's your name?"

"Inuyasha."

"Hai! Arigato, Inuyasha nii-san!"

"Oi, Inuyasha. Why is it you never treated me even once?" Kagome questioned him with a sideways glare.

"That's because you have your own cash. You don't need to be treated."

"Oh really?"

Inuyasha noted the dangerous tone of Kagome's voice. "Er… Y-yes?"

"Biased! You'll get it from me soon! Oh yes you will!"

"Keep you volume down, girl." Sesshomaru muttered, clearly irritated.

"I told you! My name is not girl, wench or whatever else you can think of! It's Kagome! Ka-go-me!"

"Eat. Ka-go-me."

Kagome threw a final glare at Sesshomaru before gulping down her ramen. She stood up and paid for her share before leaving.

"And don't forget the fight tomorrow at noon." Sesshomaru threw her that last reminder before she disappeared into thin air.

The funny thing is, even though Kakashi was there, no one paid any notice to him so what's behind his mask is still a mystery.

* * *

That's all folks! Inuyasha made his appearance and I'm not even in the main part of the story yet. I'm still building it up. I'm quite aware that it's quite slow. I'm not very happy either. Mid-year exams are also approaching. I really hate major exams. What's worse is that I'm taking my 'O's next year. Stress!!

Please review and tell me what you think!


	9. And So It Begins

Chapter 8 is out and exams are coming… exams are coming… exams are coming… exams are coming… exams are coming…

Will I survive? Will I survive? Will I survive? Will I survive? Will I survive?

How? How? How? How? How? How?

* * *

Chapter 8… And So It Begins

"Moshi moshi, Kioji speaking. Who's this?"

"Can't you even check the caller ID before you pick up any call? Oh wait, or do I need to train you in that?" Kagome was frowning at Shippo's carelessness on the other end of the phone.

"Oh… AH! Okaa-san!! Why did you call?" Shippo was, naturally, flustered at Kagome's sudden call.

"You've been slacking off, haven't you?" A slight threat rose in Kagome's voice as she said that.

"I… er… Ah… No! Er… I…"

"So you _have_ been lazy."

"IwasasleepwhenyoucalledbecauseIwastiredandIsimplycannotunderstandhowyoucangothroughallthesepaperswithoutfeelingsleepyforweeksandevengoatitformonths!"

On the other end of the phone, Kagome blinked as her brain tried to absorb what Shippo just blurted out. "Riiight, anyway, just email me what's new and what you've done. If it's not up to date, you'll get it from me." With that, Kagome ended the call and slipped her Blackberry into a pocket of her bag. She twisted a hundred and eighty degrees on her swivel chair and returned to her Tablet PC. Papers, which were filled with quotations, were piled all over her bed and stationery littered the nearby table.

_I still have to finish all of this before noon._ Glancing at the clock, which was half hidden amidst the papers, Kagome let herself let a small sigh of relief when she saw that it read eight forty-five in the morning. A new email promptly entered her inbox just as Kagome turned back to her PC. Kagome quickly opened it and downloaded all the attached files, simultaneously opening one file after another.

_**You should really just rest your brain, girl.**_

_Shut up you pompous creep. And don't call me 'girl'. You may have been in 'hibernation' for quite awhile be that does not give you a good enough reason to forget your host's name._

_**And don't you forget mine. For the memo, it's not 'pompous creep'.**_

_Whatever! Now just leave me alone. Bother me later when I'm done._

Kagome faintly felt her inner youkai blowing a raspberry at her. Kagome rolled her eyes as she quickly deleted the documents she already read and for those which required her signature, she already sent them back before deleting them. Why delete the documents? Because she felt that it is better to be safe than sorry in the sense that someone might just decide to ransack her room for information on her company. The different quotations lying on Kagome's bed were put into an envelope and sent back to Shippo after she checked them twice over.

After all of that was done, Kagome straightened out her room and gave a satisfied sigh just as she sipped her freshly brewed green tea. Kagome turned to look at the clock. She gave a slight shrug when she saw that it was only ten. After finishing her cup of tea, Kagome stretched herself all over like a cat or rather, an Olympic gymnastics competitor.

_**I'm baaack!**_

_Urusai! Can't you even give me a few moments of peace?_

_**Haven't I done that for like… Aww heck. I can't even remember how long it's been.**_

_So shut your trap, Furi. You're getting on my nerves._

-Furi starts shouting-

_Damn it! Shut the hell up! Don't make me curse too badly!_

Silence replied Kagome after she sent that last threat to Furi. Kagome shook her head as she picked up her two swords. Before strapping both of them onto her back, she pulled on a jacket and stuffed a few things in its pockets. After all of that, she finally pulled on her boots and walked out the door.

-------

While heading towards the outskirts of Konoha, Kagome grabbed a simple meal of dango before leaving the town area. As she trudged along the soggy ground, she began playing music on her iPod. It was a fine day and there was no sign of rain though the temperature seemed to have begun dropping.

Eventually, Kagome arrived at the open field. For some reason, there was a particularly large group of people. She decided not to dwell on it and shrug as she began scanning the crowd for Sesshomaru. While she did so, she realized that the 'crowd' mostly consisted of the shinobi she had met and even Tsunade was here. Apparently, Tsunade was holding on to a bottle of sake and another weird looking guy with bizarrely spiky long hair was talking to her.

_**So, who do you think that is?**_

_Please remember that I do not know everything._

-Shrugs- _**I'm just trying to make a conversation here. You don't know how boring it can get just sitting around and watching.**_

Kagome ignored Furi and kept looking for Sesshomaru. It felt like she was playing a real life version of 'Where's Waldo'. At least the masses of people were mostly around the edges of the field and that left most of the field empty. Looking at her watch, she realized that she was one minute early. Kagome rolled her eyes and headed to the center of the field and sat down. The feeling of all those pair of eyes looking at her was rather freaky.

Eventually, Kagome's digital watch beeped to indicate the hour. Sesshomaru punctually arrived just opposite her. Kagome stood up and noted that he was armed with Tokijin and Tenseiga (?). The both of them released their youki and a huge rush of wind was also released.

"Dramatic, aren't we?" Sesshomaru commented, as his youkai markings appeared.

"What can I say?" Kagome replied, her markings also appearing.

Kagome unsheathed Juuman'okudo and Sesshomaru, Tokijin. Inuyasha appeared in his hanyou form and stood between them. He raised his arm and brought it down, thus signaling the start of the fight. Almost immediately, the two fighters appeared. After awhile, they reappeared momentarily when their swords came into contact. The clang of swords rang loudly throughout the area. Both competitors smirked. They stepped back and Sesshomaru released Tokijin Wave while Kagome let loose the black and red wave which was still unnamed.

The attacks met and there was an explosion of power. Apparently, Sesshomaru and Kagome were no longer bothered about whether the landscape would be destroyed or not.

"It looks like we're on par." Kagome raised her voice amidst the noise.

"Hn."

After the huge explosion, the two youkai were into hand-to-hand combat. Their swords were now sheathed. It was odd that they did not begin with hand-to-hand before using the swords but no one was bothered. After some time, Kagome began getting cuts. She frowned slightly and concentrated more. Then, even Sesshomaru got cut. Sesshomaru was going to aim for Kagome's stomach when she did a back flip and landed gracefully on her feet. Sesshomaru's claws began to glow green as he smirked again. Kagome's eyes narrowed and her claws began to glow a fiery red.

Just as both of them crouched for another attack, an unsettling presence stopped them both in their tracks. The both of them looked upwards and saw a white bird-like thing in the sky. Standing on it was a guy with blonde hair. He had a black cloak with red clouds on it, just like the other guy Kagome met the other day. He seemed to be smirking as he dropped something down and made a sign with his hands.

Kagome's eyes widened as the small object got closer. Eventually, it exploded.

-Akatsuki-

Deidara was glad. The job seemed to have been settled quickly. But as the smoke cleared, he began to feel irritated.

-Normal-

Kagome's miko powers had improved tremendously over the years. The huge shield she put up was proof of her skill. Her stamina also increased greatly, thus making this stunt a simple job for her.

Kagome was not pleased. It was supposed to be a sparring session but in the end, some idiot barged in and messed the place up. Her face did not show any sign of displeasure though. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha decided not to fight this human but instead leave him to Kagome. It was clearly her fight.

Kagome leapt skyward and landed on the white object's tail. Apparently, it was a bird thing. The person who attacked turned to face her. He was clearly astounded to find her on his work of art. Despite the situation, Kagome had a pleasant smile on her face and she looked like the kind of person who you would want to befriend.

Deidara felt a slight fluttering feeling in his chest when she smiled. The feeling was weird yet nice at the same time. His eyes narrowed a fraction as he tried to concentrate and push that feeling away.

"Who are you and what is your business with me?" The question posed was usually the kind which would be asked threateningly but somehow, it came out of Kagome's mouth in a sweet kind of way. It was really odd.

Deidara was slightly flustered but he calmed himself and answered, "Deidara of the Akatsuki. I'm here for the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome almost rolled her eyes at the last statement. It was ridiculous. Every where she goes, there'd be at least one idiot who would come after her for the godforsaken Shikon. It was as though the Shikon had some kind of tendency for trouble. Well, it does, in a way.

"It is my job to not give you the damned thing." Kagome retorted.

Deidara was slightly taken aback. It didn't seem to be her nature to say that. Then again, he just met her. Before that, he only got a vague description of her during the 'mission briefing'.

"Then I'll have to take it by force."

_That line again. Isn't anyone creative enough to come up with something new? _That was Kagome's instant train of thought.

"Bad news, dude. You won't get what you want."

Deidara removed his hand from the pouch around his waist. He hesitated a moment before letting loose a clay figurine in Kagome's direction. Kagome leapt off his bird and as she fell, black, bat-like wings sprouted from her back and lifted her back into the air. At the same time, Deidara's clay figurine got close enough. He let it blow. To a normal person, the blast would have been very damaging. But to youkai like Kagome, it did not do much. Although the blast caught her by surprise and she received wounds from it, it was not good enough to kill her. Kagome's arms were raw and her jacket was slightly tattered.

Kagome looked at the damages done to her clothes and said, "Dei-whatever, you owe me money now. There was cash in my jacket, you arse."

"The name's DEIDARA! And it ain't my fault if you put money in your jacket, yeah!"

"Oh wait, why don't you pay by injuries instead?" Kagome suggested. At the same time, Deidara got a punch on his face out of nowhere. "How does that sound to you? It is a fight anyway, isn't it?"

Kagome managed to hit him two more times before Deidara finally decided to duck and hovered somewhere slightly further away from Kagome. Deidara was rather pissed off by now. Not only has he been unable to get the Shikon immediately, his thoughts were also rather messed up.

Kagome's claws began glowing fiery red again. She had a sadistic smile on her face as she slowly approached Deidara. She stopped at about five feet away. Kagome then suddenly flicked her wrist so hard that the liquid from her claws managed to reach Deidara. At the same time, Deidara let loose another set of explosives from his hands.

Deidara's sleeve and right hand caught fire while Kagome seemed to blow up (she didn't, so don't worry.). Deidara was slightly flustered, not by his thoughts, but by the fact that he could not seem to put out the fire (a trait of Kagome's poison). Kagome now looked bloodier than before. The explosion gave her even more wounds and now her face had a slight layer of ash, which more or less blended with her youkai markings on her face. She twitched her nose as she let herself get a little entertained while she watched Deidara struggle with the fire. She knew it was in vain. It would not got out unless she 'commanded' it to.

_**Can we play berserk for a little while?**_

_I don't see the point in using up all that energy._

_**Aww geez, I have been MIA for such a long time and you don't even grant me a little play time?**_

_What exactly are you going to do if I let you out?_

_**Er… How 'bout a good game of baseball by turning into youkai form and smacking that blonde and letting him fly into the furthest I can? Oh, the fire should be called off too. I don't fancy hitting a fireball.**_

_Actually, I kind of like you suggestion…_

_**So you'll let me have a go?**_

_Why not…_

Kagome's eyes began turning black as her pupils turned into slits the colour of orange flames. Deidara was preoccupied with shaking his sleeve and trying to extinguish the flames so he did not see Kagome turn into a huge black dragon. He also did not notice the huge tail approaching him. But he did feel the tail coming into contact with his body and the huge force that sent him flying at a ridiculous speed. The next thing he noticed was that the fire finally went away.

Kagome turned back into human form once Deidara was hit. She narrowed her eyes a little to try to see where he landed but apparently, he was too far away.

_**STRRRIIIIIKE ONE!**_

Kagome shrugged and promptly landed on the ground where there were many spectators. _I completely forgot about them…_ Kagome did not bother hiding her markings anymore. She felt it was not worth the effort. She went towards the stream and began using the water to get rid of the soot and ash which collected on her skin. Her wounds were still in the process of healing and her left arm still felt raw. Sesshomaru stood to her right while Inuyasha stood to her left. Kagome sat down on the ground and folded up her pants. She then dipped her legs into the clear water and relaxed. Kagome could not be bothered with the rest of the world for now.

-Akatsuki-

Before he knew it, Deidara hit the ground next to Sasori.

"Nice that you didn't keep me waiting but you failed." Sasori grunted.

Deidara simply lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He was still breathing though.

"It seems that we underestimated that girl." Sasori continued.

Deidara had the urge to just remain silent but he replied Sasori with a soft 'yea'.

* * *

That's it. The next chapter has already been started on so don't worry.

Mid-year exams have begun and so far, I've only finished my Chinese paper. It'll be English tomorrow so it's not that much of a worry. Then Additional Math will come next next Monday, followed by Principles of Accounts on Tuesday. I'm not sure what's next though. It's darn worrying…

I'm gonna DIE!!!!! And no one'll update!!!! I DUNNO HOW TO PASS MY EXAMS!!!!!!!!

please review… By the way, Kioji is a name which Shippo adopted.


	10. Background

It was only after I posted the last chapter that I realized that I forgot to thank the reviewers… What torture… Don't you realize that most of the things we know in school will not apply to real life unless it's a language or math? Science is more of scientists; geography MIGHT save your life; history does nothing; literature does not really give you a proper occupation.

But I'm quite sure that most of us will not need to know the chemical formulae of ethanol when we decide to buy a bottle of it nor will we need to know that air is made out of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium, water vapor etc when we breathe. We also won't need to understand how landforms are created when we go to the beach to admire the scenery.

Someone who wants to commit suicide definitely does not need to know at what velocity he would travel and how much kinetic energy he would gain and how much gravitation potential energy he would lose when he travels towards the ground or if he would be accelerating on the way down.

Don't worry, everyone. I'm just ranting. But seriously, I don't really see the point.

My thanks to **XxHisLilLoverGirlxX** (x2) **, LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko** (x2) **, Hella Solaris, Sesshou's ward** (x2) **, Ai Megami Murasaki, Tsuki Shirou, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan** (x2) **, Lindsay-chan, Silver Night Fox** (x2) **, chelsey, Kagome Lady of Darkness** (x2) **, bmp112, SandK, Kage Otome, shadow miko, missingnin0x0, bluediamond-hime **and **Helen123** for reviewing.

A question to be answered:

Q: What are the pairings?

A: So far, the one which I have implied are ItachixKagome and DeidaraxKagome. Believe me when I say that is not all. See how much you can guess out of this chapter. And I'll see who gets all of them right!

Additional math is tomorrow! Additional math is tomorrow! Additional math is tomorrow! Additional math is tomorrow! Additional math is tomorrow!

* * *

Chapter 9… Background

"So, what's next?" Kagome chirped cheerfully. She seemed completely unaware that the aftermath of the earlier battle still lingered. "Now we know that the Akatsuki are after something I have. What are you going to do?" Kagome's tone immediately turned serious as she directed the question to Tsunade.

"You might as well just tell everything about you to us." Tsunade replied. "No use hiding anything now."

"Fine," Kagome shrugged. "Higurashi Kagome, Protector of the Shikon no Tama. I am part miko, part dragon Taiyoukai. Owner of Kuro Gogyou Trading Corp. In other words, I'm darn frigging rich!"

"Not that you wealth would ever surpass mine…" Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, Kagome heard him.

"As far as I can recall… You don't even own a single company." Kagome and Sesshomaru said.

"I do own one!" Inuyasha protested.

"And it's called?"

"Er… Actually, I'm more like playing in a band so… But I still earn loads!"

"See? No company." Kagome emphasized.

"No matter what, none of you can be richer than me. Why am I even saying this?" Sesshomaru said. "This is beneath me…" he then added.

"Anyway, from where I stopped… Other than most of the different certificates which you can get from universities, I am an uncertified blacksmith. Oh wait… Blacksmiths don't have certificates… Anyhow, I have two swords, Juuman'okudo and Kuro Gogyou, both of which are my canines." The shinobi had shocked expressions on their faces. "No worries, my teeth will always grow back." Kagome flashed them a huge grin. "If you want to know about the different fighting skills I have… you'd probably have to find out by the hard way."

"We are useful allies and probably your worst nightmare if you got on out bad sides." Sesshomaru stated.

"Do you have a proper archive for the Akatsuki? I need to find out more." Kagome asked Tsunade and checked on her wounded arms once more.

"How 'bout I deny you the information? I still can't trust you." Tsunade said.

"Oh yea, another thing, guess our ages." Kagome said and gestured to the Inu brothers on either side of her.

"Woman, have you lost your marbles?" Sesshomaru said it in a careful manner, yet it was a little threatening.

Kagome ignored him. "This is open to all shinobi present. Just to increase your chances of getting it right." Sesshomaru glared at Kagome. "Just loosen up a little and enjoy the fact that they'll get it wrong." She said to Sesshomaru.

"If they guess it right, I won't ever trust you in such situations ever again." Sesshomaru simply stated.

"Seriously, nii-san, I really don't think they'll get it right. Just look at them," Inuyasha gestured to the quizzical shinobi, "they've obviously never come across such a situation before."

"Since when did you get so analytical?" Sesshomaru's voice was as cold as ever but he was feeling skeptical. "You never were one for brains."

"If I talk back, I think I'll get sat so I'd rather hold my tongue." Inuyasha mumbled.

Kagome and Sesshomaru's heads turned sharply and they frowned at Inuyasha saying, "Who are you? You're definitely not Inuyasha, you imposter."

"What?"

Naruto suddenly spoke up, "Kagome nee-chan's probably seventeen, the doggy-eared man is probably seventeen as well and the cold, scary dude is probably twenty."

Kagome and Inuyasha sniggered while Sesshomaru allowed himself a smirk. "WRONG!!" Kagome and Inuyasha yell for all it was worth.

"But Kagome-chan, I thought you were seventeen. I remember clearly that you're a few years older than me." Lee began.

"Too bad, I'm a different Kagome-chan from when you last remembered."

"Hint for all of you! OUR AGE DIFFERENCES ARE REALLY GREAT!" Inuyasha yelled. Sesshomaru appeared behind him and thwacked him behind his head. "Ouch! What did you do that for?"

"My ears are still sensitive, dimwit."

"Kagome is twenty-five, the Inuyasha guy is twenty-seven and Sesshomaru-sama is thirty." Kakashi yelled out of nowhere.

"Do I look that old?" Sesshomaru asked no one in particular.

"Warmer but still rather cold!" Kagome yelled back.

"It isn't that you look old but the last time we met, which was three years back, you were twenty-seven so I guess you'd be thirty." Kakashi replied.

"For your information, that was my fake age. I tell every one I'm in my twenties since I look that way."

"Since when did you meet Kakashi-san?" Kagome turned to Sesshomaru.

"Simple, I paid him to do an S-Rank mission for me. Simply put, he had to assassinate someone for me. I was too busy back then." Sesshomaru replied nonchalantly. Kagome just gave him an incredulous look.

Then Tsunade suddenly shouted out, "Kagome is seventy, Inuyasha is eighty while Sesshomaru is ninety!" (Seems real old, don't it?)

"Warmer but still cold!" Inuyasha and Kagome yelled back.

"I have a question. Why is it that you would come up with such a guess?" Sesshomaru raised and eyebrow as he asked that question.

"'Cuz she's ol-" Naruto was cut off when Tsunade grabbed him by the neck and choked him purple.

"Say another word and you won't see the next dawn." Tsunade snarled menacingly.

Then all the initially unthinkable guesses suddenly popped out of nowhere. For example, "Kagome's three hundred and twenty, Inuyasha's five hundred and ten and Sesshomaru's a thousand!" That was by Kiba. Another one was "Kagome's four hundred and forty-five, Inuyasha's six hundred and fifty-two (1), and Sesshomaru's two thousand!" This one was by Hinata. She hit Inuyasha's age on the spot. Yet another guess was "Kagome's five hundred and seventeen and Sesshomaru is… two thousand eight hundred and sixty!" The final one was by Naruto. Although he hit Kagome's age on the spot, he only missed Sesshomaru's by four years (adding). Kagome had a small feeling that he was cheating since the Kyuubi was inside him…

_**They guessed your ages.**_

_Oh yea, Sesshomaru won't trust me in these situations anymore. I wonder if he remembered…_

"Kagome, the next time we ever come to such preposterous events, I'm taking charge." Sesshomaru said to her as he stalked of into the undergrowth.

_**Oh darn, he remembered.**_ / _Oh darn, he remembered._

-------

_That was one heck of an afternoon..._ Kagome thought as she walked towards her apartment. _I should go on a road trip…And probably go searching for the Akatsuki…_ Kagome was fingering her keys when suddenly, a hyper-active blonde jumped infront of her.

"Help me get stronger, Kagoem nee-chan!" It was Naruto.

"Why would you want to gain power?" Kagome replied.

"So that one day, I can become the Hokage!"

"Whatever for?"

"To protect the town and prove that I'm the strongest ninja in Konoha!"

"Good enough reasons for me. Meet me at training ground three at dawn. I'll tell you what to do then." With that, Kagome disappeared, leaving a stunned Naruto behind. He never thought it would be so easy to get Kagome to teach him. Slowly, a wide grin spread onto his face as he began jumping around with glee and shouts of jubilation.

-------

It was dawn. But Naruto was all alone. Kagome was not here. So where is she? This time, there was no one to keep him company. A horrifying thought struck his brain, what if Kagome has Kakashi's habit of being late?

---

It was noon. But Naruto was all alone. Kagome was not here. So where could she be? There was still no one to keep him company. Yet another even more horrifying thought struck his brain, what if Kagome would only get here by nightfall?

The trees suddenly began rustling their leaves. Naruto looked up and saw that ominous grey clouds have gathered. _No way… My luck can't be that bad…_ It started to pour. And Naruto was still alone.

---

It was the early evening. But Naruto was all alone. Kagome was not here. So where the hell is she? Still no one but himself around. The worst thought of all struck him, was Kagome even coming? It was still pouring though…

Then the bushes near Naruto began rustling. At long last, Kagome appeared. "How'd you like the rain I brought?"

"YOU'RE LATE!!!" Naruto ranted alone.

"Oh you see, I met an old lady on the way here and I decided to be a nice person and help her carry her shopping bags home. Then-"

"LIAR!!!" Naruto yelled again. _Why are her excuses identical to Kakashi-sensei's?_

Kagome simply placed her left hand behind her head and laughed lightly. _Even her posture's identical to Kakashi-sensei's…_

"Right," Kagome reached for her waist pouch and pulled out a couple of ankle weights. "I want you to wear these daily, no matter what. In addition, you'll run around Konoha ten times as fast as possible. I'm trying to aim for one minute with the weights on." Kagome added with a grin.

Naruto finally noticed that her attire was like a shinobi's. The only problem was that SHE WAS WEARING A JOUNIN VEST!! She even had a Konoha hitaeate tied around her neck. The cloth was black though. Kagome dropped the weights on the ground and they made craters bigger than that of Lee's.

"Er… Ah… Why are you wearing a Jounin's vest?" Naruto stuttered as he brought forth the question.

"Oh? I _am_ a Jounin. Just that it's more of a part-time thing. I'm a part-time ANBU too. Don't worry too much, I don't really need ninjutsu or genjutsu and it all happened a VERY long time ago."

"Wait, are you Kakashi-sensei?"

"Nope, not a whit. It is ridiculous to think that I am him. We're not even alike." _That's what you think_, Naruto thought.

_**We actually came here before?**_

_You were hibernating._

_**How long ago was it?**_

_Seventy years._

_**I see…**_

---

It has been ages since she last donned this outfit. She has definitely left the shinobi life for quite a long time. Although she was not originally a shinobi, this life was enjoyable and good enough for her to relieve her stress. Kagome has left Naruto to do his running but that probably would not happen anytime soon since he was already dragging his feet along the ground when she left him.

After thinking for awhile, Kagome decided to storm into Tsunade's office and give her a nice, good fright. As she entered the main building, the shinobi on guard looked at her suspiciously. Out of nowhere, Inuyasha and even Sesshomaru appeared in their shinobi uniform.

"I didn't know you guys were shinobi, jounin at that." Kagome began.

"I had no idea that either of you were even shinobi." Inuyasha continued

"It was all for the sake of getting back into the battlefield without needing to go back in time." Sesshomaru murmured.

The other two nodded in agreement and Kagome said, "Were any of you part of ANBU? I was."

"We were part of ANBU. I'm sure they'll be quite glad if we actually want to get back in there." Sesshomaru answered.

"That's probably because none of us ever failed a single mission since we first began, right?" Kagome replied.

"Of course," Inuyasha replied cockily.

All three of them were in dark blue save for the jounin vest. Sesshomaru had a mask (similar to Kakashi's) covering the lower half of his face and his hitaeate was more or less hidden from sight. He preferred to belong to no one but himself. He had particularly long sleeves for his top though. Sesshomaru's attire looked dark blue but upon closer inspection, one would realize that it was black instead. His hair was pulled into a ponytail which rested upon his left shoulder, like where his pelt used to be. Tokijin and Tenseiga were place against the left side of his waist.

Inuyasha's hitaeate was more like a bandana which helped to cover his ears if there was a need to. The collar of his shirt was white and it fit around his neck perfectly well. His sleeves were short and so were his baggy pants. You'd think he was going on a safari or something. His hair was in a low ponytail. Tetsusaiga was resting against his left hip.

Kagome's attire fit snug against her body. It was dark blue and her sleeves were short. Her top reached halfway above her thighs like a skirt and there were a pair of pants which reached the mid-section of her calf (?) muscles. Her swords were strapped onto her back. Her midnight black hair was plaited neatly and right now, her eyes were emerald green, like Shippo's. Her ear rings and studs were in plain view, making her look kind of punk-ish.

"Sesshomaru, how I still don't understand how shinobi who wear masks, like you, manage to speak without having their voices sound muffled." Kagome wondered aloud.

"You'll find out when you decide to try wearing it. It helps to keep the pollution out too." Sesshomaru replied, throwing a subtle sideways glance at her.

The three of them walked down the hallway in silence. Given the fact that all three of them were here such a long time ago meant that just about no one would recognize them. That is, unless they have recently read a book on the greatest shinobi known since the time when they first started out. They eventually stopped outside the Hokage's office.

Sesshomaru gave the door a hard ninety-degree kick and it slammed open, startling Tsunade, who was slacking with her sake… Sesshomaru walked in first and said, "Kon…"

Inuyasha followed and said, "Ban!"

Finally, Kagome entered, who shouted, "WA!"

Sesshomaru immediately leapt to the windowsill and stood on it casually. Inuyasha fixed himself on one of the walls and crouched there. Kagome simply pulled a chair out and sat herself away from the table.

"Why did we bother with the entry?" Sesshomaru mumbled from his position.

"It's fun." Inuyasha replied curtly.

Sesshomaru glared at him. "I used to yell out the greeting and the Hokage in the office would always get a HUGE shock. Just their expressions were good enough to brighten my day." Kagome reminisced.

"Who are you?" Tsunade looked at all in a state of shock.

"Go check the records from… eighty-five years ago. Should be around there, right?" Inuyasha asked his current companions.

"More or less… Woman, have you already forgotten the people you just met yesterday?" Sesshomaru gave Tsunade a look.

"Of course I remember! Who are you to wear the jounin vest anyway?" Tsunade asked.

"As he said, just check the records." Kagome said with a wave of her hand.

"Then you'll have to wait." Tsunade retorted.

"Isn't that obvious? Make it quick then." Kagome said.

"And here I was, hoping to enjoy the night with my sake when a bunch of hooligans just burst into my office…" Tsunade mumbled under her breath.

"We heard that." Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Kagome warned. Tsunade stiffened slightly as they said that.

---

Shizune and Ton-ton were looking through the archives when Tsunade-sama entered the room. "Tsunade-sama! What brings you here?"

"I'm supposed to be looking through the records of our shinobi from eighty-five years ago to try and identify a group of bloody hooligans." Tsunade mumbled bitterly.

"Oh, then you're in luck! That's exactly what I am looking through." Shizune piped up.

"Pass it over!" Tsunade took the folder and flipped through it quickly. Her eyes widened dramatically when she came across a couple of shinobi's profiles. She held onto the folder and pulled out another and began flipping through it furiously. She almost choked herself when she saw yet another shinobi's profile.

Tsunade carried the two folders and ran off, leaving Shizune and Ton-ton wondering about what was wrong with her.

---

Tsunade burst back into the office and spread Kagome, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's profiles on her desk. The three of them walked towards the desk. They noticed there was a huge red-inked stamp of M.I.A. on each of their profiles and the papers were yellowing. The three of them grinned.

"It's a wonder how you guys managed to keep them in such good condition." Inuyasha said as he nudged the paper with his finger.

"How is it that the three of you are the three most powerful shinobi of Konoha's history to have gone missing?" Tsunade questioned softly.

"You should be glad no one recognizes us." Sesshomaru said while reading what they wrote on his profile.

"The elders do." Tsunade looked at them.

"Doesn't bother me." Kagome mumbled.

Sesshomaru leapt back to the windowsill and leaned against the edge. Soon after, Inuyasha returned to his spot on the wall and Kagome pushed the chair away to go lean against the wall. Just as she did that, the door got slammed open again. _I'm surprised that it hasn't broken yet._ Tsunade thought. Apparently, it was Jiraiya.

"I heard that the Akatsuki were here and they got beaten." He panted.

"Right you are. Why is it that you're only here one day after it happens?" Tsunade glared at him.

"I-I er… was at…" Jiraiya stuttered.

"The hot springs?" Tsunade finished for him. When he laughed meekly, Tsunade said, "You're incorrigible."

Kagome yawned and Tsunade continued, "Anyway, she's the person they attacked." Tsunade pointed to Kagome.

Once Jiraiya set eyes on Kagome, he got into hentai-mode. Noticing his change in attitude, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru growled loudly and threateningly at him. "Jiraiya, one more thing," he turned to Tsunade. "She's older than you. And I'd advise you to look at these before you do anything else." She held up the profile papers.

After Jiraiya read them, there was an instant reaction of "WHAT?!!" which rang throughout the village.

---

"Remind me why I am paying for your dinners again." Jiraiya whined. Currently, he was with Kagome, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha and they were at Ichiraku's Ramen.

"Your ridiculously loud scream almost broke our sensitive eardrums and as compensation." Sesshomaru had already finished his dinner. He was watching Jiraiya suffer when Kagome and Inuyasha ordered bowl after bowl of ramen. It was so enjoyable. "And if you dare to try running, we'll break your arms and legs and leave you to the mercy of our inner youkais." Watching Jiraiya squirm uncomfortably was even more enjoyable than watching him imagine his wallet go empty. He was such a sadist.

"You should be glad I'm satisfied with just one bowl. There's no stopping those two ramen lovers… especially if it's not paid by them." By now, Sesshomaru was quite sure Jiraiya was close to tears. So much for 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me'.

Inuyasha and Kagome have been eating at a high speed for over an hour. They were practically oblivious to their surroundings. Well, not completely, just alert enough to cover their backs. Their bowls piled up high and they came in stacks. Finally, after another torturous half hour for Jiraiya, Inuyasha and Kagome finally stopped eating.

"It's on your tab, Jiraiya!" Kagome called back as she left.

"Ja ne." Sesshomaru muttered. _That was the most satisfying one and a half hour of torment_, he thought.

"See ya!" Inuyasha ran off too.

---

Kagome walked homewards with a satisfied stomach. There was an extra bounce in her step as she relished the carefree life of a shinobi. Out of nowhere, Kakashi appeared. He began walking next to her.

As she approached the building to her apartment, Kakashi suddenly said, "Will you go on a date with me?"

Kagome looked at him in utter surprise. "Why would you ask? The age gap is quite wide, you know."

"It doesn't really bother me and I like you."

"No." Kagome walked off. She basically wasn't interested right now.

Kakashi had a slight look of shock on his face. No one had ever turned him down before. _Oh well, there's always a first for everything…_ Kakashi turned and set off for his own house. _What a pity. I guess I'll try again another time…

* * *

_

That's the end of this chapter… It was fun writing it. Please review…


	11. Journeying

Sorry for the long wait. My mid-year exams went quite well. I think I failed a subject though. I need help for writing this story.

Anyway, my thanks to **Kage Otome, shadow miko, bluediamond-hime, guardian jen, Mistress Kira- Fires of Hell, Aiyobi Uzamaki, SiLvEe-SnOw-KiTsUnE, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Silver Night Fox, XxHisLilLoverGirlxX** and **demon prince-sesshoumaru** for reviewing.

Up next, the story.

* * *

Chapter 10… Journeying

Kagome whistled a cheerful tune as she busied herself in her apartment. A few of her many belongings were packed into a sling bag. After checking that she had everything, Kagome slung her bag over her shoulder and left the apartment.

She took her time to get to the gates of Konohagakure, where Jiraiya, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were supposed to be meeting her at. After five minutes of being alone, she was joined by a noisy shinobi.

"Ne! Ne! Kagome nee-chan! Where're you going to?!" Naruto jumped up and down excitedly.

"I see that you're already able to walk around with the weights, Naruto." Kagome observed. "And you can even jump." A slight tone of suspicion slipped into her voice.

"Oh… er… I-I kind of… er… removed them…" Naruto stuttered nervously.

"Oh really? And what did I say just yesterday, Uzumaki Naruto?" Kagome's tone was getting edgy.

"Er… to wear the weights daily, no matter what… er… yea… That's what you said right?" Naruto struggled to remember the words.

"Wow. Impressive, Uzumaki. You remembered the exact words. And pray tell why you aren't wearing them?" Kagome remarked.

"I… couldn't walk…" Naruto muttered.

"Interesting predicament, Uzumaki. Do you think that that is a good enough reason to not wear the weights?" Kagome challenged.

"B-but I-"

"No buts, Uzumaki. You won't improve if you don't go through the pain and hard work. Dwell on it, kid." Kagome said threateningly. "One last warning before I go. I don't tolerate students who don't obey very well." With that Kagome left Naruto in the dust.

---

They had agreed to meet at daybreak, right? And if that's the case, why isn't Kagome here yet? It's already midday, the sun was beating down on them and this usually means that the youkai aren't in a very good mood.

And finally, Kagome arrives.

"Hey, woman! What took you so long? It's already midday!" Inuyasha ranted.

"Oh sit." Kagome muttered. It should be quite predictable what happened to Inuyasha.

Kagome strutted out of Konoha without looking back. Sesshomaru simply walked after her and kept silent, as usual. Inuyasha would complain about god-knows-what every once in awhile. Last and least (just joking), Jiraiya was in his perverted state of mind again. Who knows what he could be thinking about now.

Hopping from tree to tree was how they usually traveled during missions or whatever else reason but today, Kagome did not leap into a tree but instead walked on the ground itself, jumping into a tree occasionally to avoid obstacles which they might meet. Kagome seemed to know where she was going and the other three simply followed her.

Their walk was drenched in silence which was only broken by restless fluttering of a bird's wings or the occasional wind that went by. In short, things were mundane.

---

It has been three days since Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Kagome and Jiraiya embarked on their mission to find out more about the Akatsuki. The first day was dripping with boredom. The second day involved the killing of a few brainless youkai. And now, it was the third day. Everyone was unscathed.

The group is currently resting in a clearing in the middle of some forest. Kagome walked off for a little 'alone time'. She slipped away into the undergrowth silently. She walked for a short distance before she was stopped by the same person who she met in the forest back at Konoha. He looked the same as before but now, Kagome knew that he was definitely a member of the Akatsuki. Kagome remained relaxed. She knew that she could easily beat anyone of them.

"Uchiha Itachi, am I right?" Kagome began.

"The Akatsuki would appreciate it if you would kindly hand the Shikon no Tama over." He said, unblinking.

"And thou shall repeat oneself, no." Kagome said.

"This transaction could be done nicely and it would be-"

"-in your best interest to stop bothering me." Kagome finished for him. "I believe that none of your group would be able to survive a full onslaught by me and my… friends."

"It should be you who would not survive our attacks." Itachi retorted.

"Then it will be our pleasure to have some fun before we go back to our mundane lives elsewhere." Kagome stated. "And that is a fact."

"Don't underestimate our abilities, girl-"

"No, **you** shouldn't underestimate **our** abilities. I, for one, know that we can defeat you hands down although you out number us. It should come in quality, not quantity, boy." Kagome glared straight at him, unflinching.

It was tempting to use the Mangekyou Sharingan in this favorable position but somehow, he had this sneaking suspicion that is would not work against this Kagome. Besides, his eyesight was getting worse. All of a sudden, the girl disappeared from sight. _Damn it. She's left, again._

---

Kagome used her speed to move off once Itachi got distracted by his thoughts. Hopping into a tall tree, she concealed her presence completely and watched the Akatsuki member. He was joined by another member of the Akatsuki. If she remembered correctly, he should be Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi's partner.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Konchuu." Kagome murmured. With a muffled poof, a minute bug appeared on her hand. Kagome gave it silent instructions to follow the two Akatsuki member and find out their base without getting found out. With a final gesture, the bug departed and landed on Itachi's cloak without getting detected.

Satisfied, Kagome stealthily left the scene, leaving nothing behind.

---

Kagome seemed to have taken quite long to return to the campsite.

"Where've you been?" Inuyasha questioned.

"Met the Akatsuki and left a tracking bug on him." She stated simply. The three men gave her weird looks. "What? You can't expect me to follow him and leave the three of you here, clueless."

The three of them stopped staring at her. Kagome did constant checks on how er tracker was doing. So far, it nothing of interest was happening. His is probably going to take quite awhile…

* * *

That's all. I can't think of anything else to write about for now. FYI, reviews help. Pass a few suggestions as to how I could go on from here. It's getting difficult… Sorry for the short chapter... T-T

Please review…


	12. Happy Smacking

This is the next chapter. I have no idea as to what I'm writing. My pen name was Natsu Tansoku. Now, it is Natsu Shourai. It is my birthday. I am now fifteen. I don't know why I am speaking in short sentences. I hope that it doesn't last. Before I forget, from the last chapter, there was a technique which was 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Konchuu'. It should be known that it was to summon the bug. And now I tell you that 'Konchuu' means bug.

My thanks to **xXKillorbeKilledXx, shadow miko, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, adam, Mistress Kira- Fires of Hell, bluediamond-hime**, **Sesshou's ward** and **Lindsay-chan.**

So few reviews…

* * *

Chapter 11… Happy Smacking

Kagome had her iPod on and her earphones stuck in her ear. She was snapping her fingers to a tune playing on her MP3. At the same time, her eyes were closed and she had her mind focused on a little speck which was somewhere, out there with the Akatsuki. The speck moved at a steady pace, it never stopped. It has been that way for four days straight.

Abruptly, the music stopped playing and Kagome snapped her eyes open. She removed the earpieces and stood up. Stuffing the device into a pocket, Kagome ran off. Taking the cue, the three men followed. The quartet raced through the forest, seemingly crashing through the trees.

The youkai noticed that they passed another group of shinobi as they sped through.

---

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"And what exactly are you talking about?" Kiba asked.

Naruto turned his head stiffly to face Kiba. "That coloured blur which came by just moments earlier."

Tilting his head upwards, Kiba sniffed the air and replied, "It seems that they were also from Konoha."

"I suppose you're right, Kiba." Kakashi stepped out of the undergrowth behind two of the genin under him.

"Then do you know who they are?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi's hand reached to the back of his head, "Er… well… no."

"And so, the other quartet stands confused." A female's voice came to their ears from behind them.

"Exactly why did we have to turn back?" A male's voice came from the same direction.

"Don't you ever understand the element of fun, Sessh?" Yet another male's voice came by.

"Don't giving me nicknames, hanyou." The first male voice came by again, but closer.

"Don't friggin' call me that!" The second male's voice rang out.

"Men…" The female's voice chided mockingly. Now the speaker seemed even closer.

"Why am I to travel with you three?" Another male's voice came by.

"Because we say so." The female voice said curtly.

After that long conversation, the four people finally dropped from the trees and landed soundlessly. Surprisingly, only three out of the four could be recognized by the other group of shinobi.

Jiraiya and Kagome were the easiest to recognize. Then, came Inuyasha and the last person… Well, no one was sure who he was.

"Hn," the unknown person mumbled. "They don't have a clue as to who I am."

Kagome and Inuyasha laughed. "That's why I say that you should not wear that mask, Sessh!" Inuyasha said between laughs.

"Do you have something against people who want easier breathing, hanyou?" The man retorted.

"Don't call me that!" Inuyasha yelled back.

"Before the two of you begin a shouting match, let me just tell the rest of you that he," Kagome pointed to the unknown man, "is Sesshomaru."

Questioning looks appeared on the shinobi's faces. The two half brothers' argument was already threatening to become a shouting match. Sesshomaru retorted from his perch in the trees while Inuyasha yelled his piece up to Sesshomaru. Kagome sighed and said, "I suggest that everybody sit."

---

"Why am I the one to get dirt?" Inuyasha yelled and asked at the same time.

"Try that again and you'll have more dirt." Kagome threatened. Inuyasha immediately went silent. "Uzumaki Naruto, did you wear your weights?"

"Yes!" Naruto said suddenly and stiffened.

"Good for you." Kagome replied. "Where were all of you going, anyway?"

"We just completed a mission yesterday. We were on our way back to Konoha when you came by." Kakashi replied.

Jiraiya poked the fire with a stick. As he stared at its blazing embers, Naruto popped next to him and asked, "Where have you been? You were supposed to be training me."

"I was busy." He replied simply. Naruto pouted on the spot.

Sesshomaru watched the campsite from his spot in the trees. He leaned against the tree and relaxed. The night's temperature was crisp and cold, just as he liked it.

Inuyasha sat in another tree and rubbed his arms. The night was too cold for his liking.

Kagome stood up and announced, "I'm going for a walk. I would appreciate it if no one followed." She turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. She walked in the darkness, guided by the faint moonlight available. _I'm bored, bored, bored._

_**Which makes it worse for me.**_

_No one asked you._

_**But I answered. Why? It's because I'm bored… bored… bored…**_ (Echoes off)

Kagome mentally rolled her eyes.

_**I can't help it if I'm stuck in you and you're the only person I can bug.**_

_I don't need you to bug me._

_**Too bad, missy. I'm STUCK in you. In other words, I can't get out.**_

_And if you are out, you'd wreck havoc._

_**Because I find it fun.**_

_That would be common knowledge by now._

_**But seriously, don't you think that it's been rather boring lately? It's even worse when you had to work.**_

_How would you know? You're supposed to have been 'hibernating' back then._

_**I can tell. You didn't answer my question.**_

_Well, you're right. It is boring. I need exercise._

_**Me too.**_

_You aren't getting out that easily, Furi._

_**Aw man!**_

_Any idea how I can get my dose of action? Oh wait, why the hell am I asking you?_

_**There ain't now one else for you to ask, missy.**_

…

_**Hah! Got you speechless! Finally!**_

_If only I could wrench your neck like a towel._

_**-Gulps nervously-**_

-------

The weather was fair as the group of eight left their temporary campsite. The sun shone brightly and birds flew around, singing merry tunes. Due to her boredom, Kagome was jumping for every step which she would take if she walked. She thumped onto the ground and left yet another indent behind. At the next landing, she stopped entirely and stared at the puddle of water in front of her. Squatting down, Kagome took out an empty plastic bottle and made the puddle enter the bottle. After making sure that every drop was in the bottle, she capped it and sloshed the liquid around violently. An evil grin was planted on her face as she shook the bottle harder and faster.

Eventually, the rest who fell behind caught up with her.

Upon seeing Kagome shake the bottle, Sesshomaru asked, "What in the seven hells are you doing?"

"Torturing someone." Kagome replied, keeping her eyes on the bottle and her evil grin still planted on her face.

Sesshomaru was thoughtful for a moment before receiving a flash of realization and replying with a, "hn."

"What?" Inuyasha asked, confused.

"It's a favorite pastime of hers. I guess this bloke is quite unlucky. She's been rather bored lately." Sesshomaru replied.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked again.

"Wait and see."

By now, Kagome was kicking the bottle around, smacking it into a rock or a tree. She then spun the bottle violently, clockwise, then anticlockwise. After that, she grabbed one end of the bottle and smacked the bottle against the nearest tree.

"Yup, I wouldn't be surprised if this time's victim puked." Sesshomaru mused.

"Sesshomaru! Play catch!" Kagome yelled and threw the bottle, adding a spin to it at the same time.

With a smirk, Sesshomaru twitched a finger and the bottle spun right back. Kagome returned it with a ninety-degree kick. Sesshomaru then flicked a wrist. The bottle spun back. It skidded on the floor and Kagome kicked it hard. The bottle made a high arc and Sesshomaru swung his right arm before it reached him. Oddly, the bottle spun back even harder than before. As it neared Kagome, she picked up a nearby stick and batted the battered bottle back (self-made tongue twister!). Sesshomaru brought his arms up in an X-shape. He bottle shot back and Kagome smacked it back by swinging the stick.

Sesshomaru jumped higher and spun three hundred and sixty degrees, his arms outstretched. He brought his left arm down and the bottle followed the direction of his movements, therefore hitting the ground forcefully. Kagome went towards the bottle and put a foot on the bottle. Balancing her weight on the bottle, she quickly used her other foot and twisted the cap off by kicking backwards.

The water sprayed out and the bottle got flattened instantly. The water gathered to form yet another puddle but eventually, became a man. He pushed himself up and ran into the undergrowth with one of his hands on his mouth. Eventually, the entire group of eight could hear him puking. Kagome laughed and Sesshomaru smirked.

"Such sadists." Jiraiya commented.

"You just don't understand what the word 'fun' means to us, old man." Kagome chided.

"But you're older than me!" Jiraiya protested.

"Say that again and you'll suffer his fate." Kagome threatened with a smile on her face. That made Jiraiya shut up.

"How would you know if that was a person or not?" Naruto asked.

"Ne, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei did explain something like that to us before." Sakura said.

"Indeed I did," Kakashi said.

"Huh? When?" Naruto asked again.

"Remember the mission when there was Zabuza and Haku?" Sakura probed.

"Eh… Ah! Oh yea, he did explain. It was sunny and there was no rain in quite awhile but there was a puddle. So…" Naruto left his sentence hanging.

"Exactly," Kakashi said.

An annoying beeping sound filled the air and it gradually grew louder. Kagome gritted her teeth and concentrated on contacting her tracker bug. Apparently, the target has reached something which could be considered their base.

* * *

That's all folks. No self-created techniques in this chapter. I believe it seems like it is going to end soon, right? Personally, I hope that it wouldn't.

Please review. It's for your own good!


	13. The Voting Chapter

_**This is probably the second last chapter. After the next chapter, there might be an epilogue but that will be all.**_

_**I can't continue. If I do, most of the chapters might be fillers and eventually, I'll meet a dead end.**_

_**It's upsetting, I know. Take comfort in the fact that I'll keep writing stories.**_

_**So, look out for stories which might interest you.**_

**_You could also tell me what kind of story you want and I'll try writing it. _**:)

_**My thanks to**_ vampiric instincts, Sesshou's ward, shadow miko, Lindsay-chan, vnienhuis, bluediamond-hime, blackwolf15, Silver Night Fox, missingnin0x0, kyekye, XxHisLilLoverGirlxX, demon prince-sesshoumaru, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami _**and**_ Ai Megami Murasaki_** for reviewing.**_

* * *

Chapter 12… The Voting Chapter

Eight people stood at the top of a flight of staircase which led downwards to double doors. Behind them would probably be an underground chamber of sorts. They stood and stared at them, uncertain of what to do.

"Meh, this looks more like where Orochimaru would hide out." Naruto complained, scratching the back of his head at the same time.

"The bug led us here, so this would be our best bet." Kagome retorted.

"Let's go." Inuyasha said and started down the steps. Kagome and Sesshomaru followed while the others trailed behind.

Upon reaching the doors, Inuyasha pushed against the doors, his feet sliding backwards on the floor. Stepping back he charged at the doors only to slam into it. Kagome and Sesshomaru crossed their arms and watched him struggle.

"Okay, fine! I get it! Three of us, right?" Inuyasha gave in after a few minutes.

Kagome, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha stood in front of the doors, evenly spaced.

"On the count of three," Kagome said.

"One," Sesshomaru mumbled.

"Two," continued Inuyasha.

All at once, they yelled, "three!" They lifted their right legs and kicked against the doors so hard that they came off their hinges and flew far back. It never stopped retreating, to be honest. The three of them listened intently for sounds of impact. The doors crashed once and then slammed into the wall at the far end. Satisfied, they steeped through the door frame and looked around. There was not much to look at though. It was only a corridor which stretched out into the darkness infront of them. A damn and musty smell filled the place too.

"We're supposed to search and kill, right?" Inuyasha muttered, soft enough so that the humans would not hear him.

"Of course," Sesshomaru replied.

"Then we might as well split up to make this quick." Kagome said.

"Ittekimasu," Inuyasha said. At the same time, he ran off and put on his alloy knuckles.

"Later," Sesshomaru mumbled and then sped off.

Shrugging, Kagome, too, left the humans.

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked.

---

It did not take long before Inuyasha met up with someone. Unfortunately, he was not an Akatsuki. He had a bloody nose and a bruised forehead though.

"Who the heck are you? You aren't supposed to be here." He said, pushing his spectacles up his nose.

"How'd you get this banged up?" Inuyasha asked.

"Somehow, a door came out of nowhere and slammed into me. Now why am I even telling you?" the man asked no one in particular.

"Is there anyone else here?" Inuyasha asked again.

"No, we've moved out."

Inuyasha sweat dropped.

---

Half an hour later, the three of them met up at the starting point again.

"Didn't find anyone." Kagome said.

"Neither did I." said Sesshomaru.

"I met someone who told me that the occupants of this area moved out." Inuyasha said. Kagome and Sesshomaru looked at him.

"Damn him." Kagome cursed under her breath.

"Damn who?" Inuyasha asked.

"Myoga." Kagome muttered.

"Myoga?" Inuyasha echoed.

"Didn't recognize him when I summoned him." Kagome muttered.

"Hn." was all Sesshomaru had to say. He turned and left the vicinity.

"By the way, the guy I met was the one who got hit by the doors." Inuyasha said suddenly.

---

"So what are we going to do now?" Inuyasha asked.

"We either play the waiting game or just pass them a message." Kagome mumbled incoherently.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"She said to either wait or pass them a message." Sesshomaru said.

"I don't feel like waiting anymore." Kagome decided.

"Pass a message it is." Sesshomaru said.

"What would the message say?" Inuyasha asked.

"It would say: To the f---ing buffoons who love power, let's just stop playing and have a deciding death match." Kagome muttered

"Tch. What's gotten you so ticked?" Inuyasha said.

"I'm not in the best of moods, hanyou." Kagome retorted.

"I believe that they wouldn't take kindly to being insulted." Sesshomaru said.

"That's exactly what I want them to do."

"You're really itching for a fight, aren't you?" Inuyasha surmised.

"The message could also say: To the Akatsuki, the object you seek no longer exists. If you continue to bother me, you'll meet a horrible end." Kagome said.

"That sounds better than the first one." Sesshomaru commented.

"I haven't decided which note to use, so don't get too happy yet."

* * *

_**It's time to vote! Always better to have the favorite choice than decide on my own.**_

_**Yes, this confirms the fact that the story is ending.**_

_**The main problem is because I can't think of anything good enough to write and yet at the same time won't affect the current story.**_

_**Of course I keep that in mind.**_

_**Alrighty, which note would Kagome write? To fight or to maintain peace? Please place your votes! I'll keep waiting till there's an obvious win! **_


	14. All But A Dream

_**Ah yes. The final chapter is finally here. At long last, the fun will be ending soon.**_

_**Truth be told, it's been so long since I last updated that I had to re-read my own creation. To all my faithful and patient readers out there, a thousand apologies for the ridiculously long delay. For that I truly apologize.**_

_**To the people who have started reading this fic only in recent months (that is also long)I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. The final one is here after almost a year of waiting.**_

_**To one and all, thank you for all your support and do review for one last time. :)**_

_**To reviews of past, present and future a googol of 'thank you's!!**_

* * *

Chapter 14… All But A Dream

"This looks interesting." Kakuzu commented while staring at the rudely phrased memo which shot his head after must persistent pursuing. In short, the message said to leave "me" alone as the "Shikon" is no longer available or "I'll" massacre the Akatsuki. It was quite the threat, given that a number of them would require many assassination attempts before either will relent even a little. As he re-read the note for the sixtieth time (not that he bothered counting), Hidan snatched it out of his fingers.

"Why'd this stupid thing get acquainted with your head? Why not mine?" Hidan complained. His frustrated scowl slowly disappeared as raised eyebrows replaced it. "Whoever sent this must have lots of guts." Then a grin came by. "I'd like to meet him." He read the note once again and turned the paper to the other side. Hidan quickly scanned the small 6 centimeters by 6 centimeters sized paper, hoping to find a venue to meet the sender.

It was not too long before he was rewarded with the word "Tokyo".

"Oy, Kakuzu, where's this To-kyou place?"

"It's Tokyo, far west. And we're not making that detour." Kakuzu replied bluntly.

Hidan scowled and began thinking of a way to get Kakuzu to go his way. "Hey, this person must be worth quite a bit in that black market of yours if he dares challenge us."

Almost immediately, Kakuzu said, "Let's head west."

--

"I can't read this." Itachi mumbled.

Kisame took the piece of paper from Itachi. "It basically challenges the members of the Akatsuki, namely us, to a fight. Though it mentions that the Shikon artifact we are after is "no longer available". I believe we're supposed to go to To… Kyo… to meet the challenger."

"Hn."

--In Tokyo--

Kagome sat up in bed and sneezed twice. She had only been back from Konohagakure for a day and already phone calls were flooding her household. What's worse was the annoying Furi had decided to stay awake on this very day as seems unable to get back to sleep.

"SHIPPO! GET THE XXXX-ING PHONE!!" Kagome screamed from the kitchen where she was trying to make coffee without the numerous telephones blaring into her ears. Much to her satisfaction, heavy thumps sounded from the curved staircase in the living room as Shippo tried to keep up with the callers. Kagome sat onto a high stool in the kitchen and began sipping her coffee as she pushed ear plugs into her ear canals. Enjoying the self-created peace for the first time that day, she sighed in contentment.

_**That's quite a futile attempt.**_

_Oh shut up, Furi._

_**Tch.**_

Just as she reached the halfway mark of her coffee, the door bell rang.

"Okasan! I can't keep up!!" Shippo screamed over the deafening orchestra of ringing.

Growling, Kagome left her mug sitting on the table while she headed for the front door.

--Akatsuki--

"This looks… interesting." Hidan commented as he stood at the front gate of the mansion with Kakuzu. The journey here was quite the adventure. Having to pass through thousands or maybe millions of people without a single one of them screaming out in terror and running away was slightly unsatisfying though. When Kakuzu did not reply him, Hidan rolled his eyes and jumped over the fence. As he walked towards the main door of the building, Kakuzu followed after him silently, as though he was contemplating something important.

Glancing sideways, Hidan said, "What's with the silent treatment?"

"This property could be worth well over millions…" Kakuzu murmured as he continued remaining deep in thought.

Hidan scoffed and commented, "Money keeps you so occupied that I have to stoop to talking to myself and yet you complain like a prissy when ever I do my ceremonies. Why do I get the disadvantage?"

No reply.

"Here I go again!" And finally, they reach the door. Still scowling, Hidan pressed the doorbell.

--Normal--

Kagome opened the door. To Hidan and Kakuzu, it felt like an entire wave of ringing hit them. Hidan flinched slightly and Kakuzu woke up from his thoughts. Kagome stared at the two oddly dressed men for a moment before remembering that they were Akatsuki. The two men stared back, wondering what they had to do next.

_She looks familiar…_Both Hidan and Kakuzu thought. _Ah._ Realization struck them. Kakuzu remembered her as the girl whose death was priced at twenty billion ryou while Hidan remembered her as the target with the Shikon (_**there's someone who keeps to the mission**_). Reacting quickly, Kagome murmured a quick incantation to for a barrier around her property to prevent curious onlookers from getting what they want if she had to engage the Akatsuki in a fight.

"Would you two step out onto the field please?" Kagome asked, sounding oddly polite for someone who challenged them so rudely. Her politeness was so overwhelming that the two men obliged.

As they reached the center of the field, Itachi and Kisame arrived. Barely a greeting was exchanged.

"Shippo, I'll be dealing with something out here for awhile!" Kagome yelled into the household.

"Alright!" was the reply that she heard.

Kagome stepped out of the house and mumbled another incantation which protected the structure of the building. Satisfied with herself, she stepped out towards the four men. As she approached them, it appears that more and more people were arriving. Eventually, there were nine Akatsuki and Kagome stood with only Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

One of the Akatsuki members said something. But however Kagome strained to hear, she could not catch a word he said.

"What?" Kagome called out. When he began to speak again, blackness poured into her field of vision.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Kagome opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her room. _That was odd._ She sat up in her bed and looked around her. It was the room she currently has alright. This probably means that she still had her company. She turned to her bedside table and looked at the digital clock. It read nine a.m. As she began thinking about her life-like dream, she slid out of bed and went to brush her teeth.

All the historical details in her dream were true but how could it not have happened? It felt like she really was at Konohagakure once again. Feeling refreshed, Kagome left her room and headed for the dining room on the first floor. As she descended the widely curved staircase, she passed a window looking out over her lawn. She stopped for a moment and took in the view of the field of lush green grass at her entrance. Satisfied, she continued down and headed for breakfast.

On the table top was a note from Shippo, saying that he left for work slightly earlier than usual to clear up the overdue work he had. Smiling slightly, Kagome sat down and drank her coffee. Glancing at the calendar, she got reminded that toady was the day to visit the family she had been deprived of for the past five hundred years. Feeling a lot more spirited and excited, Kagome rushed through her breakfast, got changed and got to her motorcycle.

A thought struck her and she dialed a number on her cell phone.

On the other end, a voice came through. 'Hello, Shippo speaking.'

'Hey! It's Kagome here. I need you to look after the company for me again. I'll be gone for quite awhile I believe.'

'Okaa-san! You're evil!'

'Aww! I know you love me! Anyway, just do me the favor.'

'Alright, you'd better get back quick though. Who knows? I might just ditch the place!'

'I dare you to!' Laughter was heard on both ends of the call. 'I've got to go now! Bye and thanks!'

That short conversation left Kagome feeling much livelier than she had felt just moments ago. With a final laugh, Kagome smiled and slipped her cell phone back into its compartment on the motorcycle. She got on and rode off.

Kagome skidded to a halt outside her family's shrine after five minutes of traveling. She glanced at the place quickly and sighed. _It's been five hundred years and luckily, my memory's not fading yet._ She jumped to the top of the stairs and walked towards the front door. She braced herself for her family's reactions and pressed the doorbell. After standing for a minute, the thumping of footsteps could be heard and her mother's face appeared when the door opened. Behind her was Souta yelling, 'Who's that?' He stopped next to his mother and stared. 'Kagome?'

'Yo. It's been awhile,' she replied.

'Wow! Your hair's so long! Nice eyes! And you pierced your ear!' Souta marveled all at once. It took Kagome quite a while to tell her family all that happened in the last five hundred years, but she did.

'So now you're five hundred and seventeen years old?' Souta asked again.

'For the third time, yes.' Kagome answered and sipped from her cup of hot green tea. 'Ah… Green tea never tasted better…'

'So what are you doing now?' Mrs. Higurashi asked.

'I'm currently running quite a company. I established it within the past twenty years, I guess. Oh, and Shippo's my partner.'

'Then you must be very busy.'

'It's manageable.'

'YOUKAI BEGONE!' Kagome's grandfather has made his appearance.

Kagome made a face and pulled the pieces of paper off, 'Grandpa, can you not even recognize your own granddaughter? And for the last time, your ofudas DO NOT work!' _Now I know exactly how they feel…_

'Oh! Kagome! What happened to you?' And now, Kagome has to retell everything.

By late afternoon, Kagome was sitting in the living and switching the channels on the television. Unfortunately, the peace was not to last. When she finally settled on a channel, the doorbell rang. When the door opened by a small crack, something flew towards the door and got stuck in it. Kagome walked out to take a closer look and realized it was a kunai which pinned a note to the door. It read:

_To Higurashi Kagome,_

_To the Hidden Village of Konoha you shall go_

_Your questions will not be answered unless you appear._

The short message was not signed. As her mind wandered off, she hastily called it back, took the keys to the apartment they owned in Konoha and bid her family adieu. She rode off swiftly and packed certain belongings into a few duffel bags. _I hope this is worth it._

_**END**_


End file.
